


Alternate Reincarnation

by Cryocene



Category: Date A Live, Date A Live: Mayuri Judgment, Date A Live: Rinne Utopia
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 103,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24002086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryocene/pseuds/Cryocene
Summary: "First Date A Live Story. Shido had met several girls and forgotten them before. A gentle girl who ruled a paradise of lies. A jealous girl who was born to disappear. However, when the forgotten ones began to return, what would happen to our hero?"Reposted from fanfiction.net
Kudos: 3





	1. Arrival of the Goddess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings! Before the chapter, I would like to express my gratitude for you readers who decided to stop by!
> 
> Important: This story is not exactly an AU. It's more like the DAL games and the Encore OVAs: It can be both AU or canon, it's up to you to decide which. So I'm trying to make this story able to fit in canon, but you can think of it as an AU.
> 
> The story occurs after the events of Rinne Utopia and possibly Mayuri Judgment (but NOT Ars Install and Rio Reincarnation), and set right after the prologue of volume 14 (the first day of the new semester). Therefore, beware of spoilers.
> 
> This is an updated version of the original Chapter 1, "Arrival of the Goddess", since I'm convinced the original didn't develop the mood enough.

The clock showed 0.00 A.M. The date had moved from 8th January to 9th January.

In a building belonging to the [Deus Ex Machina Industries], within his personal office, the Executive Director Sir Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott sat on his chair with an obvious good mood.

"I said, postpone the attack, Ellen."

In front of his table, the secretary Ellen Mira Mathers, was confused by the orders from her direct superior.

"Postpone? But the preparations are already complete."

A few hours ago, the director had ordered to prepare a fleet of space battleships to attack a Spirit who wandered above the skies in outer space. She was code-named [Zodiac].

DEM would probably never manage to locate this Spirit, if they didn't secure [Beelzebub] (Tome of Divine Corruption) from the Spirit [Sister] a week ago. But then now, after the preparations were done, Westcott ordered to postpone the departure.

Ellen wasn't one to question orders, but she didn't see any reason for postponing the attack. Especially since, Sister's survival and the existence of [Rasiel] (Tome of Revelation) had heavily restricted Beelzebub's omniscience.

That meant they had to immediately capture Zodiac before she left her position.

There must be a reason behind his change of mind. "May I ask the reason why, Ike?"

"I found something interesting." Westcott replied cheerfully.

The secretary only raised an eyebrow as her director smirked.

"From Beelzebub?" Ellen couldn't help but feel skeptical. "Isn't its function being restricted now?"

"Indeed it is, but only partially. The interference from Sister won't affect any information unrelated to her. I can still know many things, although not as many as I would like." Westcott explained.

"Then, what do you find out this time?"

"A powerful Spirit will visit our city today."

Ellen was slightly surprised at the news, mostly at Westcott's nonchalance at the matter.

"Spirit? Then we will have to-"

Westcott raised his hand, cutting her off.

"Now now, no need to be so hasty. This Spirit is important not just for us, but also for [ **her** ]." Westcott narrowed his eyes.

There were sillence for a moment. When he said that, that meant-

"You mean... this new Spirit is also one of her experiment subjects? How do you know?" After all, that woman was...

"I am unable to decipher anything about this Spirit, even though I can tell that it's coming. Its powers are similar to that person." Westcott closed his eyes.

...So that's how it was. Ellen let out a long, annoyed sigh.

"So it's another one of her pawns? Honestly, I personally dislike the way she is playing her game. Her pawns keep on appearing one after another."

She wasn't the type to complain, but this was an exception.

Her boss, however, merely smiled cheerfully.

"You don't like it? I **love** it. She had proven that beings like Itsuka Shido could exist, so now I am eager to see more of her surprises..."

"Well... if that's the case, what should we do then, Ike?"

"Here's your orders."

The white-haired man handed her a document, which she quickly skimmed over.

"Hmm...? Are you sure this is the order, Ike?"

Ellen raised an eyebrow as she read the content. In respond to this, Westcott's smirk grew.

"Of course I am. Isn't it fitting? We should welcome [ **Ruler** ] like the queen that she is..."

* * *

_"Don't forget."_

_A voice whispered._

_He didn't know where he was. As far as he could see, it was a vast expanse of absolutely nothing._

_And yet, the voice resonated and echoed, persisting until it couldn't be heard anymore._

_"Who...is that?"_

_He didn't receive an answer. Instead, he heard another request._

_"Don't forget about me."_

_There was a pause. Forgetting... who?_

_"Promise me, Itsuka Shido."_

* * *

"...Huh?"

On his bed, the blue-haired boy opened his brown eyes. It was still sleepy, but he forced it open regardless.

The boy, Itsuka Shido, took the phone that was next to his pillow and flipped it open. It was 6.34 A.M, January 9th.

The morning of his first day of the new school term.

As soon as his brain cells were fully awake, memories of his dream immediately resurfaced.

"That dream again..."

Shido had experienced this dream for a long time. But because he had no memory of his childhood, he had no idea when he first had this dream.

One thing he was sure, it didn't came frequently. Perhaps the last time this dream occurred to him was a few years ago. Long before he began his 'quest'.

_"Don't forget? I can't even remember my past..."_

All of a sudden, Shido felt anger.

Shido was not the type of person who got angry easily. However, anytime he had the dream, he felt pain in his heart.

It was irrational. He couldn't explain why, or how. What's more, he couldn't contain the unreasonable pain within. His anger burst out, even though he had no reason to.

Just as he was about to leave the bed, he heard a knock and a familiar voice on his door.

"Shido? How long are you planning to sleep? Wake up already!"

Shido knew this voice very well. It was his foster sister, Itsuka Kotori.

A redheaded girl whose personality changed between cheerful, adorable 'sister-mode' when she was wearing white ribbons to tie her twin-tails, and harsh, tough and bossy 'commander-mode' when she used black ribbons instead.

Shido had known her well enough to guess that she was wearing black ribbons right now.

"Yeah, yeah... I'm coming.."

He jumped from the bed, and quickly went to his showers.

After a few minutes of showering and changing his clothes, he was ready for another day in school.

As he went down the stairs to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, he saw that the girls in his house were silent in front of the TV in the living room.

_"That's unusual,"_

From normal perspective, having seven female guests within the house early in the morning was already unusual. But for Shido, who knew these girls very well and lived a life different from any others, the sight of silence coming from them was the unusual thing.

"Um..."

Shido tried to see what the TV might have done to them.

The screen was pure blue.

The Blue Screen of Death.

"What!?"

Shido quickly approached the TV. He blinked, and took one more look at it.

It was reality. The TV was in BSOD.

It was shocking news for him.

_"Why? This TV is powered by [Ratatoskr]! Things like this shouldn't be..."_

He turned around. He saw the expressions of the watchers.

"Nee, Shido..."

The voice came from a girl who lived by the name Yatogami Tohka.

She was usually lively, but this time, she didn't sound too amused.

"What happened to the TV?"

That's a question Shido would like to ask his sister.

"Wait, Tohka... no, everyone, please wait. I'll take care of this."

"Good luck, Shido."

The robotic voice came from Tobiichi Origami. Since she was the only one who understood how TV worked, she was the only one to wish him a good luck.

Shido quickly went to the kitchen. There, he found Kotori was sitting comfortably before the dining table, waiting for the breakfast.

"Kotori!"

Honestly, Shido didn't want to sound irritated but his voice ruled him to be so.

"What's wrong, Shido?"

Kotori turned her attention to Shido, clearly uncomfortable from the way her big brother called her.

"The TV is wrong. Why is it in BSOD?"

Hearing that, Kotori was silent for a moment. Then she jumped from her seat.

"BSOD!? That's impossible! Are you sure those girls didn't hit it in their fight or something?"

"Err, no, the TV didn't look like it was harmed..."

For Shido, the possibility of losing things he owned to property damage everyday was not low. In fact, with those girls in his house, it was quite high. But, he was sure it was not the case right now.

"Oh well. I'll contact Ratatoskr. Just make the breakfast now." Kotori went up the stairs, returning to her room.

Shido let out a long sigh.

"I hope it's nothing serious..."

As he wore the apron and prepared to cook, Shido remembered about the dream he had again.

He very rarely had that dream, so when he did, it was hard to get it out of his mind.

_"That dream... just who...?"_

However, he knew that it was a question he couldn't answer.

Trying to remove the dream from his mind, Shido began cooking as he reminisced the events happening in the past months.

_"Spirits... beings who cause disasters called Spacequakes whenever they pop out from their home dimensions to our world. As such, the group [Anti-Spirits Team], the AST, hunt them for existing."_

Shido was reminded of the sad look on a beautiful face, back when he first met Tohka.

_"I'm the only one capable of saving them from that fate, by sealing their powers. And so, my sister's organization Ratatoskr helped me to make those Spirits fall in love with me, so I can kiss them and seal their powers, turning them into ordinary, human girls."_

Shido clenched his fists. He knew that being the only one able to do so meant it was entirely his responsibility to save Spirits.

Even if it was forced upon him, it didn't matter as he would have done it with or without orders.

_"It seems that, since I keep their powers inside me, I can use their powers, their Angels. However, I was told that the stress of having the powers of 8 Spirits and their 7 Angels seemed to drive me berserk a few months ago."_

Shido had no recollection whatsoever on that period. One side of him was curious, another side of him was afraid.

Afraid of what he could have done.

_"What should I do now? Can I continue to seal Spirits?"_

Shido could feel chill ran down his spine. His hand trembled.

_"No, not just that. There's a lot of other things to worry about."_

Shido had to bite his tongue to calm down.

_"There's still Kurumi, the Spirit who refuses to be saved."_

The sight of the corpse of Kurumi's clone, killed by the original Kurumi back then, replayed in his head. It was disgusting. And regrettable.

_"Deus Ex Machina Industries, the group that wanted the powers of the Spirits for themselves. Those two, Ellen... Westcott..."_

Shido could still feel it. The terrifying stare thrown at him by Inverse Tohka, and the despair exuded by Inverse Origami.

Why would anyone unleash the monstrous form hidden within every Spirit? What sort of thing they would gain?

_"Then, there is [Phantom]... the being who created Spirits from humans."_

The memory of the enigmatic entity, taking the form of an unknown -yet familiar- girl, during the time travel trip, returned to his mind.

_"And also, Nia... she hasn't fully recovered yet."_

Shido remembered as he saved the life of the otaku Spirit a week ago.

When one of DEM Wizards took most of her Crystal when she was rampaging in her Inverse form, the process stripped her from most of her powers and would have killed her if Shido didn't save her in time.

_"What should I do? These hands... what can they do for them?"_

Shido stopped cooking for a moment to take a firm look at his own right hand.

He closed his eyes and kept silent for several moments.

"...Ah, I may not be spacing out like this."

Shido brushed his thoughts aside as he continued his day.

* * *

Going out of his house at 7.17 for school, Shido walked with Tohka, Origami, Kaguya, and Yuzuru.

A few things were off about them. Oddly, the dark-haired Spirit and the white-haired Spirit weren't looking forward, but locked at one another. Meanwhile, the twins who were usually noisy were completely silent right now.

Which went against all laws of nature.

"I can't believe that worked..."

During breakfast, Tohka and Origami were about to have another quarrel. But, Kotori had wised up and instead turned it into a competition.

_"The one who can keep their mouth shut for the rest of today, except for when Shido allows them to talk, will get a chance for a date with Shido tomorrow!"_

Kotori had told them so cheerfully.

Shido was fairly convinced that it wouldn't work to convince the two rivals to be silent. To his surprise, it did. And it worked on other girls, too.

Therefore, as Shido, Tohka, Origami, Kaguya, and Yuzuru walked to the school, no one dared talking.

_"Well, calmness like this is fine, but I guess being ordered to be silent all day is too harsh."_

He had to be considerate towards the feelings of his girls.

"You guys may talk until we reach the class."

That instant, however, Tohka and Origami immediately began to belittle the other.

"Huh, you looked relieved when Shido allowed us to talk. You can't keep it up anymore, can you?"

Tohka smiled mockingly at Origami. However, the latter didn't even change her expression as she turned to eye the former.

"I wonder. Maybe it was you who was unable to hold back your desire to talk. Seeing as you immediately spoke the moment Shido gave permission, I assume your brain lacks the capacity to control your tongue."

Origami returned the favour with a slight smile.

"What did you say?! You-"

Before she could continue, Shido cut them off before it could escalate.

"All right! All right! Tohka, Origami, keep quiet! Kaguya, Yuzuru, you may continue talking until homeroom teacher comes!"

"But, Shido! Oh, owh..."

Tohka tried to protest, but remembering Kotori's words, she immediately fell silent.

Shido sighed. He was anxious. There were so many things that could go wrong in this contest.

What if they tried to eliminate one another? How would they even do that?

Heck, what if more than one Spirit managed to survive until the end of the contest?

_"I really don't want to be trapped in another triple date... Kotori, my little sister, can I believe in you?"_

Shido was about let out another sigh, before all of a sudden, something was heard in his ears.

"Eh?"

It was very weak, but, he clearly heard something.

No, wrong. The barely audible sound was continuous.

_"What the? What is this?"_

Shido stopped in his tracks.

"Hmm? What froze you, Shido?" Kaguya asked.

"Confusion. Shido, why do you stop?" Yuzuru asked.

"Huh?"

Shido turned to the Spirits behind him.

"You guys don't hear anything?"

The four Spirits shook their heads.

Meanwhile, in Shido's ears, the sound was gradually becoming louder and audible.

After a few moments, Shido could finally recognize what was it.

_"This is... music?"_

The blue-haired boy looked around, trying to find any source. However, there was none.

"...?"

* * *

Early in the morning or not, Tenguu City was still a city. Sidewalks began to be crowded, and streets were slowly filled with vehicles. Noisy, but one could almost taste the peacefulness of the busy city.

However, so long as light existed, so would shadows.

"Hump."

A girl clad in blood red and shadow black dress hummed as the sounds from outside made her aware of the time of the day.

The city had awoken.

_"So the sun has risen..."_

It was the Spirit with code-name [Nightmare], Tokisaki Kurumi.

Her differently colored eyes were focused at herself through a mirror wall.

The room she was in couldn't be said to be in the best condition. There were no furniture, the floor and the walls were dusty, and even the mirror wall Kurumi was using had very long and very visible cracks on its surface.

Yet still, she found the room to be comfortable.

After all, it was inside one of the most ideal hideouts in the city: an abandoned building that was to left to be destroyed.

Thanks to the Spacequakes, whenever a building was scheduled into a low-priority destruction, people would simply left it alone, hoping that the not-so-natural disaster would destroy them, saving the money and time necessary to burn it to the ground.

The perfect place for the Nightmare Spirit to hide.

Although, she couldn't hide from someone.

"...Stop lurking in the shadows and come out. You are not me."

Without turning from the mirror, Kurumi said the words in a calm, yet furious tone, letting her displeasure audible.

Much to her dismay, she was not alone. There was an uninvited guest, and it was not one of [Hers].

" **Heh.** "

The response came from nowhere. The distorted voice was clearly understandable, even though it was barely audible.

Kurumi hated it. She didn't like the feeling the voice gave. It sounded like the devil itself was whispering into her ears.

Then again, considering it was [Phantom], maybe it would fit her to sound like that.

" **You seem to be more and more hostile to me every time we meet...** "

The voice continued in a lighthearted tone, clearly trying to joke. Yet, Kurumi was not amused.

"There is no reason for me to be kind or polite to you."

The Nightmare Spirit almost scowled. Kurumi really could not enjoy the enigmatic entity's presence, let alone her antics.

" **Really? After all the things I've gone and told you? Don't you think I should have earned your fondness?** "

Phantom said sarcastically as her figure, distorted and protected with mosaics appeared behind Kurumi.

Kurumi didn't bother to turn around from the broken mirror wall. She didn't want to even acknowledge Phantom's presence.

"I have neither the need nor the patience to deal with you. What brings you here?"

" **Is that so. Well, I am only here to tell you something you'll like, time keeper.** "

The Spirit of Time twitched at the nickname.

In a sense it was fitting - her [Zafkiel] (Emperor of Time) was indeed an Angel that could manipulate time.

That didn't mean Kurumi could appreciate how Phantom worded it.

Noticing her reaction, Phantom made a chuckle. Kurumi could feel her anger was beginning to boil.

Deciding that she wanted Phantom to leave as soon as possible, she spoke.

"Do tell, although I doubt you could bring me any sort of joy."

" **That's where you are wrong. I am telling you that your friend will visit you. Soon.** "

Kurumi widened her eyes as soon as she heard the word 'friend.'

_"My friend? Could it be...?"_

Kurumi had never told anyone, but she had a partner.

A fellow Spirit, who was working with her from afar.

No one knew about her except for herself, and of course, Phantom who made Spirits from humans.

She was also someone Kurumi had told to stay away from Tenguu City for the time being.

After a moment, Kurumi scowled and threw a glare at Phantom's reflection on the mirror.

Phantom was trying to deceive her.

"Do you think you could fool me? The time is not right. She is not supposed to visit yet."

Kurumi spoke with a controlled anger, raising her tone.

Phantom made a gesture that seemed to be a shrug.

" **I never deceived anyone with words.** "

Phantom replied dismissively.

Kurumi narrowed her eyes.

"Do you think I ever believed in you?"

" **You do, at times. Such as when I told you about that man.** "

Was Phantom talking about Shido? As useful as the information about Shido was, that was not a proof that Kurumi trusted her.

And, her partner would not have a reason to visit early anyway.

"Only after I see an irrefutable evidence. Also, you are in no position to speak about her. You do not know her the way I do."

" **Huhu... ha ha ha!** "

The enigmatic Spirit let out a distorted laugh that was unclear as it was unpleasant to Kurumi's ears.

Before Kurumi could open her mouth to silence the figure, the Phantom spoke again.

" **Oh, I know all of my children, alright.** "

As soon as Phantom said that, the mosaics covering her figure dissolved like a fog under the light.

It then revealed a girl with short, light pink hair with a tied-up braid, and light brown eyes, clad in Raizen High School sweater and skirt.

It was the exact same form Phantom took when she spoke with Shido back when Kurumi sent Shido to the past to save Origami.

"Look, I can even use her appearance like this."

In her new appearance – her voice no longer sounded distorted, Phantom smiled cheerfully.

Seeing that through the reflection, Kurumi clenched her fists so hard it became white.

_"How dare she?"_

Did she think just because Kurumi could not reach her last time, meant that Kurumi would tolerate it now?

"You... I advise you should stop using her appearance like it was your own."

Kurumi's tone was no longer that of annoyance. It was that of a threat.

However, the Phantom was not the slightest bit intimidated.

"Hee hee... sorry, Kurumi."

Phantom made a nervous smile and put on a guilty look as she apologized.

It was fake however, Kurumi knew. That manner of apologizing belonged to someone else.

Someone Kurumi knew very well.

_"This woman..."_

Kurumi intended to end this encounter without wasting her Spirit mana.

Phantom's very presence was enough to darken her mood, but at least she could tolerate that.

However, the Nightmare Spirit was not going to allow Phantom escape unscathed for making fun of her friend.

"I told you..."

Kurumi snapped her neck to Phantom's direction as she drew both her flintlock and musket from her shadow.

"Don't act like her!"

However, just as she was about to attack the Phantom, a faint noise startled her.

"!?"

"...!"

Phantom too appeared to be surprised, and the fake duplicate of her friend floated away from her by a few meters.

Kurumi stopped, and her sharpened senses immediately focused on her surroundings.

The Nightmare Spirit expected an ambush, probably by the AST or DEM.

However, there was nothing. The room remained still.

The only ones she could sense were her clones, dispatched to observe to watch this place, and Phantom, who was in her eyesight.

But the noise - which was almost ethereal, it reached her ears without any vibration - continued.

Gradually, the noise became louder. At the same time, it became clearer and more audible.

It had... tempo and melody. It was not a mere noise; It was music.

_"Wait... could this be!?"_

Kurumi widened her eyes in shock.

"This melody... it can't be..."

In disbelief, Kurumi accidentally spoke her mind out loud.

Phantom, clearly recognizing the music as well, bent her body into a taunting akimbo.

"See? I told you she was coming."

Phantom spoke cheekily with a mocking tone.

Although Kurumi would love to wipe the smile on Phantom's face off, she was too surprised to care about it at this point.

Kurumi listened to the music for a few more moments. Maybe she was hallucinating.

However, the longer she listened, the clearer it became. It was certainly her [music].

_"No way, she really came? Why?"_

It was not the time yet.

Her friend was early. Way too early.

_"Why would she... no."_

Kurumi was not going to ask Phantom.

She was going to ask the guest herself.

Kurumi ran past Phantom, who ignored her.

In the darkness of the hallway, Kurumi phased to the floor and into the building itself with her powers. Within her own path of darkness, Kurumi ran forward into the light at the end, almost like a tunnel.

In no time, she emerged from the pavement outside the abandoned building. Kurumi looked around for possible witnesses.

Luckily for her, there was no one except for her, it seemed.

_"Good for me."_

Kurumi closed her eyes, concentrating on the music.

It was light, calm, and soothing melody.

Being the gothic girl she was, Kurumi was familiar of this kind of play.

A serenade. A musical greeting performed for a lover, friend, or other people to be honored.

Her friend was calling her.

_"The music is coming from... there!"_

Kurumi used her powers to once again phase into the ground below.

After a while, she surfaced again, this time in a T-junction street.

Kurumi took a deep breath to calm herself down. From this point, there was no need to rush.

Calmly turning right, Kurumi smiled at what she saw.

"There you are... Rinne."

In the middle of an empty area devoid of people, the person Kurumi referred to was eye-catching.

She was clad in a long, purple clock dress. She had a long, light pink hair, with braids reaching her legs. Her head was decorated with a large headdress, and her face was mostly covered by a piece of veil.

On her left hand she held a bright violet, metallic Hebrew lyre Kurumi recognized as a kinnor, and with gentle strums of her right she produced a beautiful serenade.

"Long time no see, Kurumi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! If there's anything you want to comment, criticize, bash, or point out, don't hesitate to comment.
> 
> A bit of information: the kinnor is an ancient Hebrew string-type instrument that... you can call it a hybrid between harps and lyres. It is hand-carried like a lyre, but its strings didn't pass across a soundboard and bridge like a harp. Usually, people refer to it no differently than a normal lyre.
> 
> The kinnor that Rinne possesses has 10 strings, which is one of the standard numbers for Hebrew lyres. Its size is slightly larger as Nia's Rasiel when opened (which is a book larger than typical dictionaries, I estimate).
> 
> Thanks for dropping by! I hope you will see "Alternate Reincarnation" again!


	2. Reunion Between Time and Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salutations! My thanks for people who decided to read this second chapter!
> 
> Nothing much to say though, except for the fact that this chapter is also an updated version of the original Chapter 2, "Reunion Between Time and Fate"

"What's wrong, Shido? You look like a treasure hunter."

"Concern. What are you looking for, Shido?"

Kaguya and Yuzuru said, respectively. Tohka and Origami too, appeared concerned.

The blue-haired boy didn't reply. He was deep in thought, concentrating to the music playing on the background.

_"They can't hear it, but I can. That means... it must be a Spirit's doing!"_

Shido was convinced of it. His experience with the Angel of Sound, [Gabriel] (Army-Breaking Songstress), led him to that conclusion.

Gabriel's music was intense, trying to erode into the very core of his mind. This on the other hand was calm, and made his heart warm.

This music had a different feeling into it, but they were similar.

He could feel it affecting him, even if it had no effect because of his Spirit powers.

That meant it was supernatural in nature, and likely caused by a Spirit.

_"But Kotori didn't inform me anything..."_

It was in these kinds of times he wanted to kick himself for not bringing the communicator with him.

Thinking of an alternative, Shido then pulled out his phone, trying to contact his sister.

"...Huh? It's not working?"

Shido glanced again at his phone's screen. Kotori couldn't be contacted.

He tried again with Murasame Reine's number, but the result was the same.

_"Could it be that [Ratatoskr] is under some sort of maintenance today?"_

It made sense, considering the BSOD their television had this morning.

Just as he was about to continue looking around however, all of a sudden an uncomfortable feeling assaulted his whole body.

"Ugh!"

He felt the air around him thickened, and the surroundings were darkened for no reason at all.

It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening.

_"Th-this is...!"_

Shido's eyes widened as he understood what happened.

There was only one thing he knew that could cause this.

Worried, Shido glanced at the girls behind him for confirmation.

"Ah...!" Kaguya moaned.

"Discomfort. Yuzuru feels... weak..." Yuzuru said weakly.

Tohka and Origami were no better, but even still, the two obeyed Shido's orders and didn't make a sound.

There was no mistaking it.

"Kurumi's... [City of Devouring Time]!"

* * *

"Are you an idiot?"

Kurumi said as she raised a hand, commanding her City of Devouring Time to envelope everything in her sight with darkness.

She didn't intend to sound so harsh, Kurumi was more than a bit annoyed at this point.

Contrary to her negative mood though, the girl in front of her only let out a chuckle as she took off her veil.

Revealing a beautiful face befitting Spirits, a pair of crimson eyes met Kurumi's own mismatched ones.

Rinne smiled.

"Hmm... in comparison to you, yes I am."

The Spirit's lyre dissolved into Spirit mana as she said that.

Catching the hidden meaning of those words, Kurumi narrowed her eyes.

"You didn't warn me of your arrival, and you didn't attempt to hide your presence here. Do you think flattery will get you anywhere?"

"Why do I need to worry about those? I know you will find me and mask my Spirit wavelength with your bounded-field."

Rinne only shrugged and answered dismissively at her concerns.

Kurumi couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Not this again.

"...You can't always count on me to have your back."

She made sure to sound a little bit serious with that line.

However, once again Rinne only giggled, much to her chagrin.

"I know, Kurumi, don't be so stiff. We haven't seen each other for a while, so a little surprise never hurts, right?"

Rinne only asked her back with a cheerful tone.

This topic wouldn't get anywhere, so Kurumi decided to drop the subject with a sigh.

Her senses stayed sharp, of course, to scan their surroundings. It would be preferable if no one saw them there.

Luckily for them, there was no one. Although Kurumi suspected it was because of Rinne's doing rather than luck.

Kurumi smiled lightly and turned to her friend again.

"Fufu, I apologize for my rude welcome. Would you want somewhere more pleasant to chat? I shall be your guide for this tour."

With a respectful tone, Kurumi bowed and gave a curtsy.

"I accept your apology, and do please guide me. I'm in your hands."

Kurumi looked up to see Rinne smiling in acceptance.

Keeping her smile, Kurumi snapped her fingers, thus triggering the time-stealing barrier around them to gradually disappear.

As the shadow disappeared, so were their presences there.

* * *

The landscape around them now was completely different.

Rinne was beside her, and they were back inside Kurumi's personal hideout.

_"I am back..."_

Kurumi had honestly found herself comfortable within the broken dance room she had come to like personally.

And it was relieving Phantom was no longer around anymore.

"Is this your hideout?"

Voicing her curiosity, Rinne asked as she was looking around.

"Ara, of course."

Kurumi turned to her guest.

"It may not be to your liking, but-"

"No, this is fine enough. I'm already used to being homeless, after all."

Rinne shook her head and cut Kurumi off.

Kurumi smiled at Rinne's acceptance, although coming from **her** , it really didn't mean much.

Considering her personality, Rinne would accept basically anything Kurumi offered.

Therefore, Kurumi decided to mess with her.

"Ara, are you implying that living in this building, one that I personally secured, is no different than living in the streets?"

Kurumi made sure to frown while trying to sound displeased. She had to sound like she was really offended.

Much to Kurumi's internal joy, Rinne's face twitched. Her crimson eyes widened in horror.

"Eh, no! I'm not implying that at all! Err, well, maybe I did... but that's unintentional! I'm sorry!"

Seeing how Rinne frantically tried to apologize, Kurumi couldn't stifle her laughter.

"Fufufu... it seems that one year didn't do much to change you, Rinne."

Kurumi nodded smugly, in a way that seemed to convey 'that's you alright'

Realizing that she had been tricked, Rinne huffed at her.

"You are mean."

"I certainly am."

Kurumi replied cheerfully, prompting Rinne to look away with a pout on her face.

_"...She really hasn't changed. But what about me?"_

The Nightmare Spirit twirled on her heel, turning to gaze to the broken mirror wall behind her.

Much to her surprise, Kurumi was smiling.

Not her usual smirk or even a grin, but it was a genuine, sincere smile.

_"So I am still capable of this, eh?"_

For Kurumi, a lighthearted smile was something she almost lost. An expression of innocence, an expression of purity.

She thought it had disappeared along with her humanity since she received her Zafkiel.

_"But then, this girl appeared..."_

Kurumi glanced at Rinne, reflected on the mirror wall.

Sonogami Rinne. Her fellow Spirit partner, as well as her friend.

Their first encounter was nothing more than coincidence.

Kurumi dismissed her as another human, at the time.

The thought that Rinne would become a Spirit didn't cross her then.

The thought that Rinne was someone willing to help achieve her goal, was beyond her imagination even now.

"Ah right, speaking of goals..."

Kurumi closed her eyes and pulled a deep breath, before deciding to change the subject.

She twirled once more to face her partner, this time with a serious expression.

"Rinne, as much as I am trying to be polite, I still need to know what brings you here."

The Nightmare Spirit spoke with a more professional tone, as if they were attending a meeting.

Rinne might be her partner, but that didn't mean they had to be together all the time.

More specifically, Kurumi had told Rinne to operate separately with her to avoid the DEM.

For her to just appear here was... troubling, to say the least.

"Oh, right."

At that, Rinne crossed her arms.

"Two reasons... first of all, information."

Rinne listed by raising two of her left fingers.

"Informing me? You can always inform the [Mes] following you."

Kurumi didn't want to assume Rinne had forgotten that, but she stated it regardless.

"There's a problem with that. This is important and I have to tell you as soon as possible. Isaac Westcott is planning something big."

"Something big?"

At the ominous tone Rinne was using, Kurumi raised an eyebrow.

"The man has been moving every elite Wizards in his disposal and all the Spirits he had captured to this country."

"...Ara? All of them?"

Kurumi was surprised. Now that was certainly important.

Moving Wizards here was sensible, considering that Spirits appeared mostly around Japan.

But Kurumi couldn't fathom any purpose for moving captured Spirits here.

_"Are they planning to release them, like they did with the Second Spirit?"_

Whatever the reasons, Rinne was right. This was something they couldn't take lightly.

"Isn't he overdoing it?"

"Not only that. I heard they were preparing to launch military fleets to space."

Kurumi was even more surprised.

"Sending fleets to outer space? They have no reason to do so unless they are planning for some orbital attacks, or..."

"A Spirit was found there."

That's fascinating, Kurumi had to admit.

A Spirit, isolating herself in outer space? That was certainly new. She had never encountered a Spirit like that in her life.

Kurumi's interest was piqued, but there were more pressing issues right now.

"Is that it for the first reason?"

"Not exactly, I still have-"

Kurumi raised her hand, prompting Rinne to stop.

"Let me guess. The second reason is about Shido-san."

Kurumi frowned slightly with accusation, but Rinne only smiled wide.

"Hump. You know me very well."

Rinne let out a chuckle, while Kurumi merely rolled her eyes.

_"I knew it."_

"It's just easy to guess. Otherwise you wouldn't have played [that lyre] to call me."

"Hee hee, so you did notice how I cleared the people around our meeting."

Kurumi resisted the urge to groan seeing Rinne merely confirmed her worries with a casual tone.

The lack of people around the area they met wasn't natural. It was caused by her partner.

"She had already started the plan... is she really an idiot? Did she forget the schedule?"

It was then Kurumi's turn to cross her arms, glaring at her partner.

Kurumi was not going to let Rinne hear the end of this.

"I thought we went over this last year. Your plan's schedule is already set."

"I know we did, but I'm getting impatient."

"Impatience? Is that your reason for rushing here like an idiot?"

"This is for the best. Who knows what will DEM do while we are wasting our time? They have omniscience now, Kurumi!"

Rinne raised her tone slightly, emphasizing the last point. Slightly surprised, Kurumi stopped to think.

It was true, Kurumi supposed. With that Angel -no, that **Demon King** \- Isaac Westcott could know everything about their intentions and locations.

That meant, DEM could easily wreck whatever plan they had. Although fortunately, anything related to Phantom couldn't be read by the Angel [Rasiel].

Because the entity was deeply connected with both Kurumi and Rinne in the past, their backgrounds were effectively sealed from being read by [Beelzebub], Rasiel's Demon King form.

With that in mind, Kurumi voiced her opinion.

"Then what do you expect us to do? There's no way to interfere with their omniscience. We simply have to overcome them with brute force."

"No, there is a way. Honjou-san can help."

Once again, Kurumi was surprised at the mention of the Second Spirit's name.

"Ara? What about her? She survived, what can she achieve with her sorry state?"

"I think you should know about this better than I do. Rasiel and Beelzebub aren't supposed exist simultaneously, you know?"

Kurumi thought about it for a moment, before coming to a realization.

"Wait, paradox? Is that what you are saying?"

"Bingo. Rasiel and Beelzebub are currently restricting the omniscience of each other because they were not supposed to exist at the same time."

Kurumi widened her eyes in surprise.

"Seriously? Why don't you inform me of that sooner?"

"Well... I was about to, until you stopped me."

Poking her own chin with her finger, Kurumi thought about the new information for a moment.

"Ara, I see. If we involve ourselves with Shido-san, the current owner of Rasiel, the resulting paradox would interfere with information about us, right?"

"Which you already did. All that's left is for me to involve myself with you, which is precisely what I'm doing right now."

Suddenly, everything made full circle. Everything Rinne had been doing now made sense.

"...So it's for that reason you came here."

"But of course! And since I'm already here, it won't hurt to execute my 'war' much earlier than schedule, right?"

Rinne let out a victorious smirk, knowing that she won this argument.

Kurumi sighed - this was probably one of those days.

"As you wish, then."

As if waiting for that response, Rinne grinned with an all-too-wide, excited smile.

The sight brightened Kurumi, if just a bit.

"Ara ara, don't be so excited. You are not going to start right away, aren't you?"

"Of course not. I don't want to interrupt his studies, after all."

Hearing that, Kurumi grinned, and widened her arms playfully.

"Well, it's been a year since we last met. We have to wait for him, so why don't we have fun like last time?"

Rinne's eyes widened, how curious. Was it so unexpected?

"That's fine by me," Rinne said, "but, Kurumi?"

Rinne's bright red eyes gained a hint of sadness. The suddenness caught Kurumi off-guard.

Then an emotion - something Kurumi never expected would affect her this much - overcome her.

Concern. Worry.

Kurumi didn't even think before she opened her mouth.

"What's wrong?"

"You still remember... what to do while I'm here, right?"

It only took Kurumi half a second to understand what Rinne meant.

_"Yeah... I promised her that."_

For Kurumi, no matter how many times she saw it, that look stabbed her in the heart.

Kurumi knew better than anyone that trying to get closer to her, of all Spirits, was not the easiest thing to do.

No one wanted to be friends with a killer, especially if it was a psychotic little girl that killed people with very vague motivations.

But Rinne didn't give up.

Just like a certain someone, Rinne never wanted to leave her alone in the dark.

Unlike that certain someone however, Rinne understood that she couldn't be saved. At least, not yet.

And so, until the time came, Sonogami Rinne would be Tokisaki Kurumi's partner.

To become her friend. Her only friend.

However, that didn't mean Rinne agreed with her methods.

Therefore, whenever they worked together, the two of them had agreed on one thing.

Kurumi would have to feed on Rinne's mana and life, and no one else's.

_"Come to think about it, the true reason I pushed her away was..."_

A sigh escaped Kurumi's lips as she met Rinne's determined eyes.

_"...to avoid that, wasn't it?"_

* * *

In the school, Shido found it hard to concentrate studying.

Not when he knew that Kurumi might be lurking around.

Even after the school had ended, while he, Tohka, Origami, Kaguya and Yuzuru were walking home, Shido didn't let his guard down.

He was right. Ratatoskr was having a maintenance. But they did manage to boot up their system in time to catch Kurumi's signature.

However, she was only detected for the few minutes the City of Devouring Time was active. As it faded away, so did Kurumi's signature.

_"Just what she is up to, this time around?"_

Kurumi had always been the unpredictable type, but to activate and deactivate her life sucking barrier in rapid succession felt abnormal, even for her.

_"And what about the other one?"_

Shido recalled the music he heard. It was definitely a Spirit's doing.

But when he asked his sister about it, she said Ratatoskr didn't pick up any Spirit wavelength besides Kurumi's.

_"Then what did I hear?"_

Shido could still feel it. The calming, warm, and most of all... nostalgic feeling the music gave.

"...Eh?"

He felt something tugging his left arm.

Turning his head, Shido was surprised to see Origami tugging his sleeve rapidly, without even changing her expression.

"O, Origami?"

Judging from the speed Origami was tugging, it seemed she had been pulling his sleeves since a few moments ago.

_"Wha... have I been spacing out?"_

Origami was holding a piece of paper. On it was written, 'May we talk?'.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry sorry! Yeah, you guys may talk until we reach home."

Shido tried to hide his worries, but it seemed the white-haired girl couldn't be fooled.

"Are you worried about Tokisaki Kurumi?"

That was very blunt.

Shido couldn't help but think about that.

"...Yeah."

Knowing that it was pointless to hide it, Shido answered after sighing.

"Advice. You shouldn't think about it too much."

From behind Origami, Yuzuru popped her head and said that.

Shido was almost annoyed by that. But Yuzuru didn't know about Kurumi, so he had to be patient.

"You may say that, but-"

Before Shido could argue, he was cut off.

"Don't worry, Shido. We heard it from your redheaded baby sister that this Kurumi girl is dangerous. But no worries, there isn't a single Spirit that you couldn't conquer and no danger ahead could get past us to harm you!"

Kaguya said lightly while crossing her hands behind her head ahead of Shido, without even glancing at him.

"You..."

Shido was speechless. He knew Kaguya's choice of words was exaggerating, but she was serious.

"Shido, you didn't fail with her. Your success was just delayed."

Suddenly, Shido could feel something warm from behind him.

To be exact, Origami lightly hugged Shido from behind and whispered to his ears.

"Tobiichi Origami is right. Shido, Tokisaki Kurumi isn't beyond saving. Not if you, are the savior."

In front of him, Tohka turned to him and said that, all while she was smiling.

Shido was beyond speechless.

_"Everyone..."_

He couldn't say their sentiments didn't make his heart feel warm.

They didn't want him to feel alone in this.

He could tell how much these girls cared for him.

_"...I couldn't be spacing out if you guys are giving this much, could I?"_

Shido decided something.

"Okay!"

"Huh?"

"Everyone, silence."

The instant Shido said that, the four Spirits closed their mouths and surrounded Shido like obedient servants.

"Now is the moment where the competition is truly on."

Shido crossed his arms.

"I'll call Miku to our house tonight so all of you will be able to compete. Remember. I'll only accept one for the date tomorrow. Are you girls ready?"

Emulating the doujin version of him, Shido smirked to the girls around him.

As he expected, the sudden change in Shido's behavior almost caught all the girls off-guard.

But, they managed to nod firmly, knowing the battle that was upon them.

Just as they refocused their attention forward however, Shido noticed something across the street.

Two girls were walking to the direction of Raizen High School. One girl had long, black hair tied into twin-tails, and clad in a black dress. While the other had short, light pink hair, and wore a pink see-through blouse with a blue skirt.

Both of them were really beautiful, but for Shido, their faces were more than familiar.

"Ku, Kurumi... Phantom..."

Unconsciously, he mumbled.

Shido remembered that, back in his time travel trip, Phantom's form was the same with the girl that was now standing beside Kurumi.

Her clothes were different, but Shido couldn't mistake her for anyone else since her face was oddly familiar to him.

Hearing Shido's words, the four girls behind him audibly tensed up.

Meanwhile, on the other side, both girls noticed them as well.

"Ara, Shido-san."

Kurumi greeted by slightly bowing her head, while the other girl looked their way, but kept silent.

"I wanted to see you in your school, but you found me instead. Such a gentleman."

Kurumi held her own cheeks with a light blush.

Shido almost blushed at that, but he knew Kurumi was just trying to tease him.

"What are you doing here, Kurumi? And you..."

Shido wanted to say something, but words failed to form.

He really didn't know what to say to 'Phantom' after their last meeting.

However, all of a sudden-

The two girls across the street immediately separated.

"Huh!?"

The 'Phantom' was running towards the school, while Kurumi ran towards the opposite direction.

_"Crap, they separated! Now I can only chase one of them..."_

Shido cursed himself for lowering his guard.

But then he remembered that he had four Spirits behind him. He could have them following either.

The problem was which one he would personally follow.

"Everyone, follow whoever I'm not chasing!"

As Shido ordered that, he bit his lip, forcing himself to think.

_"Kurumi? Or Phantom?"_

He had to decide quickly. He had no time, or else both of them would get away.

But, at that moment.

"...Eh?"

His vision suddenly flickered, like a camera that had an error.

Several times, each time only for an instant, his vision was replaced with something else.

An infinite void.

He was alone.

A voice called him.

The dream that he had this morning.

_"Don't forget about me."_

And at that moment, anger instantly clouded his mind.

_"Damn it! Not now!"_

Shido's pleads were heard by none, however.

_"Promise me, Itsuka Shido."_

As soon as those words were heard in his mind, he was overcome with rage.

"...AAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

He ran towards the school with all the strength he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! How was it? State whatever opinions you have in the comments!
> 
> You may notice that here, Rinne is a human-turned Spirit instead of sentient Spirit energy. It will be explained much later unfortunately, be patient until that chapter comes.
> 
> Thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	3. Feelings from Beyond the Boundary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Welcome to Alternate Reincarnation Chapter 3, "Feelings from Beyond the Boundary".
> 
> Not much to say, except for the fact that this chapter was also a remake of the original version.

The quiet evening after school had turned into a hot pursuit as four Spirits were trying to capture one.

"Hey! Don't think you can escape us, the Sisters of Wind!"

"Declaration. You won't be getting anywhere!"

"Tokisaki Kurumi. It's time for you to wake up from your nightmare!"

"Kurumi! We will capture you for Shido!"

Each of them declared firmly. It was crystal clear they were not going to let her got away easily.

At her end of the chase however, Kurumi was more annoyed by their voices rather than the fact that she was pursued.

"Such noisy girls..."

Despite the situation at hand, Kurumi wasn't troubled at all. Rather, she was amused.

"Heh."

Kurumi chuckled as she looked behind at the four pursuers.

It was Rinne's plan to visit the school during the evening to set up an 'accidental meeting' with Shido.

They would then separate, gambling whether Shido would go after her or Kurumi.

If he went after Rinne, then the plan was a success. If he went after Kurumi, they would switch to the plan B.

Kurumi was almost sure that they would have to use plan B, in which Rinne would summon a spacequake to draw Shido out directly.

She didn't like to make gambles and take risks in her plans, so she thought plan A was doomed to fail. But to her surprise, plan A worked without a hitch.

_"Why was he screaming, though? It's not like him."_

That was something she could think about later, though.

Kurumi looked around. There was no civilian around, and they were in the middle of a car-free street.

Seeing the ideal condition, Kurumi laughed and stopped, prompting the four Spirits to stop a few meters behind her as well.

"[Elohim]!"

As she shouted the name of her Astral Dress, Kurumi's body was surrounded by darkness. In less than a few seconds, her black dress turned into crimson-red and black, and her uneven twin-tails returned.

"Sorry, but you'll have to let me escape, I will get somewhere, I still want to sleep within my nightmare, and you'll not catch me for Shido-san."

Kurumi replied to each one of their declarations with a wide, mocking grin forming in her face. Simultaneously, a huge golden clock appeared behind her.

Although usually they would come up with a reply, the four Spirits only kept silent as the Nightmare Spirit mocked them.

Seeing the unusual sight of her opposition's silence, Kurumi actually became curious about what happened inside their heads.

_"Have they learned from experience not to piss me off?"_

After a moment, Kurumi decided that fleeing the scene was a better choice of action.

"Good bye, everyone. I hope we will meet again, soon."

With a smirk, Kurumi put her flintlock to her temples and chanted.

"[Zafkiel]. [Aleph] (First Bullet)."

And by pulling the trigger of the time acceleration bullet, the Nightmare Spirit disappeared.

* * *

_"What is this feeling?"_

_"I never feel like this before."_

_"When I ran after her that day in the past, I didn't feel like this...did I?"_

_"Is that girl really [Phantom]? Something feels different."_

_"But, what exactly?"_

* * *

Shido found himsef returning to the Raizen High School.

The school wasn't empty yet. A few students could still be seen talking to each other at the entrance and in front of shoe lockers, and the teachers obviously hadn't returned to their homes at this hour. Nothing seemed out of place, nothing out of the ordinary.

But something was wrong.

The girl Shido was pursuing after couldn't possibly enter the school without being spotted. Her attractive appearance and suggestive clothing couldn't pass through unnoticed. But the behavior of the students made it seem she didn't even go here.

_"It's weird... I clearly saw her went in."_

Shido tensed up. Before, Phantom disappeared to the sky as easily as Kurumi disappearing through the shadows. If she really wanted to, she could just do the same trick to escape Shido again.

However, the girl just now didn't do that. Neither did Kurumi. That meant they **wanted** Shido to go after either of them. As for which one they wanted him to follow, he couldn't know.

Regardless, Shido knew that following either of them without the [Ratatoskr] backing him up was very dangerous.

He didn't bring the communicator device with him. Kotori would probably yell at him again when he returned home tonight.

That was assuming he even managed to return safely.

But, the strange feeling within his heart urged him to go on.

Shido quickly changed his shoes at the shoe lockers and entered the school building.

He had no idea where the girl was, but since he didn't see her outside, it was more likely that she was inside the school somewhere.

_"But, where?"_

Shido finally began to think calmly after his short-lived anger a few minutes ago.

"Raizen High is a large school two main buildings. Finding someone there isn't going to be easy."

He uttered words of discouragement to himself.

However, as he said that, a familiar music was heard.

"Eh?"

It was heard again. The music from this morning.

Shido panicked. The Spirit from this morning chose now to play her music again? While he was chasing Phantom?

Then a thought crossed his mind. Could it be... Phantom was the Spirit who played this?

Once again, the blue-haired boy concentrated to the music on the background. The melody came from...

"The rooftop!"

As Shido climbed the stairs of Raizen, he could tell something was wrong.

Logically, when you walked closer to something, then any sound that thing produced should become louder.

However, the music he heard was constant. It didn't sound any different from earlier, even as he got closer.

_"It violates logic and sense... I suppose that's a Spirit for you."_

Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushed the door that led to the rooftop.

"Huh?"

There she was. However, Shido's attention was on the things around her.

The girl didn't look any different from earlier. However, a large, black circle was accompanying her behind her back, very similar to how Kurumi summoned her Zafkiel.

Unlike Zafkiel though, the circle appeared just like the Spacequakes: a hole in the fabric of reality. Shido couldn't see what's inside.

In the girl's hands, she was carrying what Shido recognized to be a purple colored lyre, strumming it gently.

_"What are those? Could it be... her Angel?"_

Not knowing what to say, Shido didn't say a word until the girl finally broke the silence between them.

"Welcome, Itsuka Shido."

As Rinne said that, her hand stopped strumming her lyre.

Shido watched as the strings reach out from her lyre, extend in length, and began to move rhythmically around her.

Even though she had stopped playing, the music continued, as if the strings gained a will on their own.

He could tell as much, it was similar to Origami's [Metatron] (Angel of Extinction) and [Satan] (Demon King of Salvation).

The girl seemed to notice Shido's unease, and spoke once more.

"Don't worry about these little kids. They are just protective of me."

The girl smiled at Shido, before calmly closed her eyes and continued.

"I have a lot of things to talk about with you... but I suppose you wanted to say a few words to me first?"

Shido was surprised at that.

_"She... is giving me the chance to talk first?"_

There were so many things he wanted to say. Or, to be exact, to ask Phantom.

But Shido had to ask one thing first.

"Who are you?"

It was the girl's turn to widen her eyes in surprise. The lyre strings around her froze and the music stopped.

After a moment, the girl asked back in disbelief.

"Who am I? Didn't you just recognize me as, you know, Phantom?"

"I thought so at first. But... I don't know, you are just... different."

Shido tried to explain, but he couldn't word it any better than that.

The girl appeared to consider that for a moment, before replying.

"Very well then. That makes it easier for me to explain."

"Th-then, who are you?"

"Do you still remember what Phantom said to you, when Kurumi shot you with [Yud Bet] (Twelfth Bullet)?"

Shido gasped.

_"How did she know that I talked to Phantom during the time travel? Did Kurumi tell her?"_

He was surprised, but he didn't allow it to halt the conversation.

"I still remember. Phantom said she was... wait, don't tell me you are...?"

"Well, as you can see, she is using **my** appearance."

The girl sighed at the last part. Shido could understand that.

It was not amusing when Natsumi copied his form.

"I see..."

_"So this girl really isn't Phantom..."_

Knowing that he wasn't dealing with the real Phantom, Shido's mind felt somewhat at ease.

However, he suddenly had so many questions within his head.

Who was she? Why was she walking with Kurumi? No, more importantly, why did she brought him here?

"Can I... have your name, then?"

Shido asked the first and foremost question.

The girl twitched.

She immediately looked away, as if Shido just did something repulsive.

"What's wrong?"

"No, I... I can't tell you my name."

Shido raised an eyebrow at that.

"Huh? Why?"

"It's..."

Hesitating, the girl's expression became increasingly anxious.

Shido only became confused. Was telling your name that difficult?

After a few moments, the girl let out a long sigh, mumbled 'I can do this' under her breath, before answering.

"My name is Sonogami Rinne. Nice to meet you, Itsuka Shido."

At that moment.

A feeling he couldn't describe began to fill his heart.

_"Sonogami... Rinne..."_

Shido had never heard the name.

Or, did he? He never had any memory of his childhood.

Regardless, the name echoed within his head like a scream in the midst of valley.

Refusing to disappear, just like his dream this morning.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Shido, the girl in front of him wasn't in a state of mind any different than himself.

Feeling her heart beating faster with every second, Rinne put her hand on her chest.

_"This feeling... it's the same as three years ago."_

Rinne still remembered clearly, when Kurumi first mentioned the name Itsuka Shido.

Her mind was intrigued. Her heart felt like it was possessed by something.

It's not that it was indescribable. Rinne could tell what she was feeling.

The problem was she didn't understand why would she feel such a thing.

A longing desire. A yearning heart.

Rinne denied that three years ago.

She didn't want to give in to the alien instinct. Why would she?

How could she feel that for some boy she didn't even know before? It was irrational.

However, she changed her mind once she realized the consequences of denying.

Every time Kurumi mentioned the name, Rinne felt it again. Less haunting, but still very discomforting.

Two years of that and Rinne was almost driven mad. She couldn't stand that anymore. She had to know **how** , and **why**.

_"I have to... do this!"_

* * *

Feeling overwhelmed, Shido didn't - **couldn't** \- say a word.

_"What is this?"_

For the first time in his life, Shido felt something alien.

_"What am I experiencing? What's happening to me?"_

Shido couldn't tell. He couldn't understand.

_"What is this feeling?!"_

Shido wanted to scream, but words didn't leave his throat.

He felt somewhat grateful that Rinne didn't seem to be responsive at the moment either.

Before long, though, she broke the silence again.

"Shido..."

Rinne's voice was barely above a whisper, but he heard it.

"Ye, yeah?"

Shido wanted to say more, but he wasn't ready to talk. Not right away.

"You are aware of it, right? That I brought you here on purpose?"

"...Yes. Actually, I wanted to ask you why, but..."

He was not in any condition to think properly right now. He couldn't ask.

"I came to this city because I want to request you something..."

Rinne's voice became more uncontrolled, dripping with embarrassment.

"Request? Me?"

Shido not only felt he knew what would come next, he felt accepting of it already.

"You know, it may be sudden... I mean, we just meet today and all, but..."

She stopped mid-sentence for a deep breath.

"It, it's part of your job, right? I mean, you keep on asking girls out of the blue..."

He was not dense enough to not understand what Rinne meant with that shy stammering words.

"Would you go out on a date with me?"

Rinne finally said.

Another silence fell upon them.

She gave a sudden request. She was asking for the impossible.

Tonight he had a competition he had to attend. Tomorrow he would date the victor.

This request came from a Spirit who appeared out of nowhere.

She walked together with the Nightmare Spirit and was likely her ally.

Rinne also had her appearance used by Phantom. That was probably not a good sign.

Shido knew how dangerous accepting the date would be.

But he couldn't refuse.

Something told him not to.

"Yes. I would love to."

Surprised by his answer, Rinne's eyes widened.

"Wh, what? You really will?"

He noticed that Rinne had some problems believing what she heard just now.

He didn't blame her. Shido himself didn't believe that he just said the word.

But he had his reasons to accept.

Every single Spirit popped out of nowhere.

Kurumi was dangerous. But there wasn't a single Spirit who didn't threaten his life's safety.

Phantom might have something to do with Rinne, but then again, so did every Spirit.

For him, there was no reason to refuse a chance to save a Spirit.

_"They would understand."_

"Yeah. It's a chance to save you. I won't refuse it."

At his words, Rinne's lips curved into the smallest frown he ever knew, he barely could see it at all.

"I didn't say it was to save me. I want to date you for my own reasons."

Just like Kurumi. Obviously, Rinne had her own objective. But-

"It doesn't matter. You asked me for a date, and I will use it to save you."

"Are you sure? You won't go to Ratatoskr first? You won't ask for your sister's permission?"

Rinne shot her a questioning look, clearly not believing what he said.

"She will understand my choice! If she doesn't, I will make her understand!"

Shido wasn't even surprised that she knew about Kotori and the Ratatoskr. He didn't care at this point.

"You might die, you know? You saw that Kurumi and I are at least allies working together. This whole date might be our plan for her to eat you."

He didn't know why Rinne warned him about that, but that wouldn't stop him.

"Maybe. But if you really set this date up for her to eat me, that's good. I will get another shot at saving her, and I can save you too."

Shido said unhesitatingly.

"You... why?"

Rinne was at a loss of words. However, Shido had resolved to do this since the very beginning.

"Because I want to save you. That's all."

"..."

Rinne fell silent. She couldn't come up with an argument.

"Anyway..."

"Eh?"

"I have a lot of things I want to ask you. Your reason to date me. About me. Everything."

Shido's eyes met Rinne's. He wanted to show her how serious he was.

The strings around Rinne began to twitch uncontrollably while she nervously turned around, facing the dark hole behind her.

"...I can understand how you have so many girls following you."

"Urg?"

Shido was confused, but Rinne ignored that.

"Very well then."

She turned around to face Shido once more, her expression gentle.

"Since you accepted, I believe you will need some time to prepare yourself. We would meet here tomorrow, after the school had ended. Is that okay?"

"That's fine with me."

Shido was actually relieved. He said all that, but he clearly was not ready to go now.

"Then, is it a promise?"

Rinne extended her hand toward Shido.

Shido appeared to be hesitating for a moment, but then he smiled.

"It's a promise, Rinne."

As the two held each other hand-in-hand, Rinne closed her eyes. Shido too followed suit, as the familiar, yet unrecognizable feelings returned.

_"Have we met somewhere before?"_

As the question passed by his mind, Shido tightened his grip.

"Ah!"

Forgetting he was holding Rinne's hand, Shido was surprised by her yelp.

Realizing what he had done, Shido quickly opened his eyes and found a pair of brown eyes staring at him, flustered and trembling.

"I, I'm sorry!" Shido said quickly.

"It, it's fine..." Rinne replied weakly.

As if not wanting to embarrass herself further, the girl continued.

"Then, I hope you'll excuse me..."

"Huh?"

"[Cassiel] (Fate Shaman)!"

As she mentioned the name, Rinne threw the lyre on her hand to the the hole behind her.

Right after that, the hole gradually disappeared in a few seconds.

"Eh?"

After the hole was gone, Rinne's figure too, began to fade.

Seeing the girl before him fading away, Shido's eyes widened in shock.

Not because she was about to disappear, but because once again a feeling of dejavu had hit him.

_"What is this? I think... I've seen this before."_

Before she disappeared completely, Rinne turned at Shido.

What came after was the warmest smile Shido had ever seen, and words that pierced his heart.

"See you again, Itsuka Shido. Please, don't forget about our promise."

"Huh? Ah, yeah..."

Unable to properly find the right words to respond, Shido was stunned. He merely stared at Rinne's figure disappearing into light.

And there she went. Not a single trace of her was left. Shido still stared at the space that was occupied by her a few moments ago.

Coming to his senses, Shido began to feel his eyes were wet.

"Eh? Tears?"

_"Why... why am I crying?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go. Share anything you want to say about this chapter in the comments~
> 
> If you are wondering, Rinne's Angel, Cassiel, is not an angel from the Tree of Life like the Angels of other Spirits. Its name meant "God is my anger", but that's not why I chose the name.
> 
> Cassiel is also the Archangel of solitude and tears, and also the angel who falls in love with mankind. You'll see why I gave her that. After all, every Spirit's Angels fit perfectly with their powers/traits.
> 
> Thanks you for following the developments of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	4. When Their Hearts Collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, readers! This is the last of the updated chapters, but not the last of the reposted ones! Chapter 4, "When Their Hearts Collide".
> 
> Not much to say, except that this chapter is also the updated version of the original.

"Okay. So, in conclusion...you met two Spirits when you were walking home just now."

Kotori's voice felt off. It was like she was trying to hold something back.

"...Yeah."

Knowing what would happen to him, Shido only nodded nervously.

Shido had just informed his sister of what happened when he went home from school today. Right now, Kotori was summarizing his report.

Unfortunately for Shido, she didn't appear to be amused by his actions.

"They are Kurumi and someone who looked like [Phantom]."

"...Yeah."

"They suddenly separated, so you decided to go after the Phantom lookalike, leaving the others to chase Kurumi. Without bringing the communicator device with you."

"...Yeah."

"You followed the doppelganger all the way to the school, where she introduced herself as Sonogami Rinne. She claimed she isn't Phantom and requested you to go for a date with her tomorrow."

"...Yeah."

"She then proceeded to tell you that she knows about your ability to seal Spirit powers, the fact that [Ratatoskr] has been helping you, and also said that she was Kurumi's ally."

"...Yeah."

"And you accepted the date, regardless."

"...Yeah."

"ARE YOU INSANE!?"

"Bu, but..!"

As Kotori's built-up anger finally burst out in three loud words, Shido didn't get a chance to make an argument.

"Think, Shido, think! Kurumi is out for your blood, and she brought another Spirit with her this time! And you just went there like a sheep running toward a pack of wolves!"

Kotori yelled as she held her big brother's body and pushed him to a wall.

"Wa, wait, Kotori, calm down-"

"No, you should calm down and think just what you are trying to do this time. Those two are targeting you! Can't you see that!?"

Shido's pleas to calm Kotori down was ignored as her grip on his body tightened.

For a moment, silence filled the atmosphere between the foster siblings. Their eyes were directed at each other, and not a single sound was uttered.

But Shido didn't need that to tell what his sister was thinking. He knew very well that Kotori's anger was born of worry. It was not unreasonable.

If anything, he was the one unreasonable in this situation.

" _But... even so, I..."_

Shido had made up his mind. He won't run away from any of his missions. Especially this one.

"Kotori... I-" Shido was cut off again.

"Don't say things like 'my life is always in danger' or stuff like that. None of those girls seriously meant to kill you. Even if some did want to destroy you, their intentions were fleeting emotions. It is not the case with Kurumi." Kotori said in annoyance.

"I am aware of that... but you also realized it, right?"

When he said that, Kotori raised a brow, clearly expecting him to explain.

"If Kurumi really wants to, she will do it. Kill me, I mean."

It was undeniable. Kurumi would have eaten Shido a thousand times over by now if she really wanted to do so since that day on the school rooftop.

Of course, Kurumi letting him be for now was no reason to trust her, but seeing her willingness to help him twice to save Origami, Shido couldn't help but give her the benefit of doubt.

At that, Kotori's expression became more melancholic.

"I know. It scares me sometimes... I know she is there, somewhere. But I can't do anything about her. On the contrary, she can do anything, to anyone, anytime. Doesn't it scare you, too?"

"Maybe more than you. I am her target, after all."

Shido laughed nervously. He did say that he was going to save Kurumi, no matter what. And he didn't intend to back on that promise.

But he was also human, the thought of death instilled him with fear, he couldn't deny that.

"Then why-"

"That's exactly why. If I continue to fear her shadows, then she will never be saved. If I won't save her, who will?"

It was Shido's turn to cut Kotori off. It was a question for his sister, but it was also directed at his own resolve.

"That's..."

They both knew the answer. None. Knowing that, Shido continued;

"Besides, I don't think Kurumi will interrupt this date. Rinne said that the date was for her own reasons."

"She might be lying. To be frank, I can barely believe any of her words."

Kotori's words were as cold as her expression.

"If she is aware of the Ratatoskr, then it's likely she only wanted to lower our guard against her. And, if she is even willing to be allies with someone like Kurumi, then it's likely she has a similar moral compass. That is, non-existent."

" _What?"_

For some reason, Shido couldn't accept Kotori's explanation. What kind of paranoid thinking was that?

He almost felt offended at the way Kotori could so easily denounce Rinne.

"Rinne isn't that kind of person!"

Shido widened his eyes as soon as his voice left his mouth.

Kotori stared at him in shock, as if she was severely scolded.

It took him a few moments to realize he just yelled at his sister, angrily at that.

" _Wha… what the heck? What am I saying?"_

He literally just met Rinne a few hours ago. He knew nothing about her.

So why did he defend her like that?

Suddenly, averting his eyes from Kotori felt very appealing.

"Shido, what happened to you?"

Kotori's shocked face turned analytic. She knew something wasn't right, and he agreed.

"Uh, I... I'm sorry. That came out wrong."

He tried to apologize, but it was too late. Shido could tell from Kotori's gaze, questions and suspicions were growing.

Her hands let him go, and Kotori took out her Chupa Chups. Shido knew what she was about to do. She clearly was going to-

"Speaking of which...you didn't explain your conversation with this Rinne very well."

…Interrogate him.

Shido hesitated. "I told you everything just now, didn't I?"

Kotori narrowed her eyes. "You did, but only the important points. I'm asking to tell me everything. Every detail. Besides her music and her Angel, what else you found?"

Hearing such a specific question, he was silenced.

" _Should I tell her?"_

Shido omitted a few facts from his report just now. He didn't say a word about the strange feeling he felt when he was around Rinne, nor the tears he shed when she disappeared.

He didn't intend to hide it. However, those were things he couldn't explain at all, especially the latter. They would only make Kotori worried more than she already did right now. He didn't want that.

That being said, Shido was not willing to make any lies, either. If his sister asked, then he would answer, truthfully and without hiding anything.

"Well..."

Once again, Shido thought about Rinne.

"…. _Just what happened to me today?"_

It was almost beyond his words to explain.

"...It's complicated."

"What do you mean? Elaborate."

"It's just..."

Shido took a deep breath. He would try his best to word his feelings.

"I don't seem to be myself when I'm around her."

He decided that was the best way to start. It was definitely true.

"When she smiled and introduced her name, I felt... strange."

He knew he should not use vague words.

"The next moment, I found myself unable to think clearly."

But he couldn't come up with a better way of wording it.

"I could feel my heart beating faster than it should, but I don't know why."

Kotori's eyes widened at his words. She stopped chewing the Chupa Chups.

"When she asked me to date her tomorrow, something urged me to accept."

He didn't even know what was possessing him to say yes.

"I felt... something about her... felt different."

And whatever it was, it made him feel very strong feelings.

"Yeah, something was obviously different. Different from any Spirit I've ever met. And when she held my hand..."

He paused again. How should he describe this?

"…I felt like I was possessed... by feelings that I can't understand."

Kotori's expression changed. The anger and worry she displayed had disappeared.

It was replaced by pure shock.

"Shido, don't tell me..."

Kotori's voice was barely a whisper, but Shido caught it.

"What? You can explain about it?"

He almost felt relieved. It would be best if Kotori could explain it.

"You... are you in love with her?"

" _Wait, what?"_

A question he never even dreamed before hit him like a truck.

"Wh... what are you talking about!?"

Shido felt his voice was louder than necessary, and for some reason, he could feel heat on his cheeks.

Kotori remained silent, her eyes staring at him as if he had grown a second head. Did she really mean that?

"Kotori, that's a bad joke. I can't possibly fall in love with a girl the day I met her, can I?"

…However, that would explain many things, wouldn't it?

" _I am... in love with Rinne?"_

The statement felt so right and wrong at the same time.

" _No, it's impossible."_

Love at first sight only existed within Yoshino's soap operas. It couldn't possibly happen in real life.

But... what else could explain it? That warmth, that nervousness... is that how love is supposed to feel?

" _Can love explain the familiarity I felt? No, it can't. And I'm not in love with her!"_

Yet, the question felt it hit too close to something. So close it scared him.

* * *

Kotori couldn't believe it.

Shido was her big brother for ten years.

She knew him better than anyone.

She knew it was impossible for him to fall in love with a stranger. Let alone at first sight.

He might be a little too overprotective towards Spirits, but not in that kind of way. Not like this.

However, it was reality.

"Shido..."

Kotori didn't trust her own voice, so she whispered his name.

However, there was no response. Shido was not listening.

"...Hey Shido!"

"Eh!? Sorry! What?"

Yelling this time, Shido snapped back to his senses, and he returned her gaze.

However, from his stare alone, she could tell that his mind was still elsewhere.

Kotori felt her teeth clenched. No… she wouldn't let this happen.

"Shido, I will allow it."

"Eh?"

She was rather amazed she could keep her voice even and professional when her mind was anything but calm, but she steeled herself.

Kotori wouldn't allow her big brother to know what she was feeling now.

"I will allow you to date her tomorrow. Me and the crew of Fraxinus will help you like usual."

She said that with finality.

Kotori didn't want to continue the conversation. She hoped Shido understood that much.

Shido appeared to be thinking for a moment, before he made a wry smile.

"Thanks, Kotori."

For some reason, she knew that smile meant mutual agreement. Shido needed to think about this as well.

"Humph!"

With a huff, she turned around and went to the door leading outside.

"Hmm? Where are you going? It's dark already."

Despite herself, Kotori allowed her lips to form a smile.

His big brother instinct was still kicking in, even after their argument, it seemed.

Kotori glanced back at him. "I need some fresh air. I have to prepare the plan for your date tomorrow, after all."

"Ah... okay." Shido didn't seem to believe her, but he didn't press.

It seemed he got the message not to pry on her thoughts further.

Oh yeah, before she forgot…

"Also, Shido. Don't forget to call Miku for tonight. The competition isn't called off just because of this."

"Roger that."

At her reminder, Shido quickly reached for his phone.

Kotori left as quick as her legs could take her.

She needed time to think. To sort out her feelings.

"… _I must meet that Spirit."_

* * *

The day had passed, and the night had arrived.

During this time, few to no people would ever visit what would arguably be the creepiest place in the whole city.

The cemetery.

"That was quite a show, wasn't it, Rinne?"

"Was it? I think it was the most awkward first meeting ever."

Already clad in their crimson red-black and purple-gold Astral Dresses, Kurumi and Rinne chatted while walking in the middle of cemetery.

Most buildings and public areas in the city had shelters for citizens to hide during times of Spacequakes. However, certain public areas, such as graveyards, didn't have such facility, which meant it was much more dangerous for citizens.

Also, lack of shelter meant lack of surveillance by both the AST and the DEM. Combined with people's general fear of graveyard, the place was perfect for people who didn't want to be disturbed by others during their hang out.

"Hihihi! I didn't know you can be so nervous when meeting a boy you love."

Rinne felt like burying herself in one of the graves at her friend's statement.

"I guess I was not mentally prepared... it has been such a long time since I last interacted with anyone other than you, Kurumi."

She hoped that sounded like a good excuse. However, Kurumi only laughed at her.

"Ha ha ha! You were watching him all this one year, aren't you? That's not an excuse."

Kurumi's lips curved into a mocking grin as she stared her down.

"Kuh... okay, you won."

Silently accepting her teasing was better than trying to fight back.

"Still, it went on just like you predicted."

Kurumi's expression became serious.

"I've never seen Shido-san acting like that before. It seems that your assumptions are right."

Twirling on her heels as she spoke, Kurumi slowly moved farther from Rinne as she spun.

"...Yeah. I must have met him, somewhere."

Rinne made a contemplative frown and crossed her arms.

"But how? You know that Shido and I never met before. You even used your [Yod] (Tenth Bullet) on me to confirm it. That person's ability to erase memories can't fool your ability to read the past." Rinne said, referring to Phantom.

"Hmm... there is one possibility..." Kurumi stated while still spinning.

"One possibility?"

"You guys have met before, but not in this timeline. My Yud only allows me to see your past, but not your memories from other timelines."

"Other timelines? But that's impossible. No one can send memories throughout timelines except for you. And you didn't."

It was undeniable, and Kurumi seemed to accept it. Silently, they both returned to their thoughts.

Not long after though, Kurumi stopped twirling.

"I don't think this will get us anywhere."

"Is that so..."

It was frustrating to admit it, but if Kurumi – who was smarter than her – thought so, it was better to agree.

"Well, rather than fooling around without any reason..."

Kurumi turned her gaze to meet hers.

"Let's have some fun. What should we do tonight?"

"Hum... the night is still young. Should we go somewhere? Since I decided where to go this morning, I think you should decide where to go tonight."

"I guess. Now then..."

Kurumi closed her eyes, obviously thinking about where should they go.

Minutes passed by. Even so, Rinne waited patiently while crossing her arms before her chest.

"Ah, I know. Let's go to a mall."

* * *

"Whoa, it's very crowded."

It was almost laws of nature that malls would be crowded. People went there from time to time, for a variety of reasons.

But this time, Rinne felt like she had to comment about it.

They could hear an anime theme song playing in the midst of the crowd. Among the crowds, many people also wore weird costumes.

It was an anime festival.

Smiling, Kurumi turned to her.

"Of course it would be."

_"I see... if there are cosplayers around, we would not stand out that much."_

If there wasn't an anime festival going on, they would probably be the center of attention already. Because she was still clad in her Astral Dress, and while Kurumi wasn't, her appearance would still attract people's attention.

Her friend now wore a monotone blouse and a skirt that had laces and frills. Her hair wasn't tied up like she was usually, but in its place she had Alice band decorated with a rose.

In other words, it was the exact same clothes she wore five years ago, minus the eyepatch.

Rinne couldn't stop a giggle as she took that in.

"Hey, why are you laughing?"

Kurumi asked, annoyed with her giggle, no doubt. Rinne found that even funnier, and laughed more.

"Hee hee... no reason. It's just... after all that talking with your clones whether or not to keep that appearance, you decided to keep it after all."

"I don't have a choice. This is an open space with surveillance, and my Astral Dress is well known by the AST. So I had to resort to this..."

"Well, something about it is lacking..."

As Kurumi tried to make an excuse, Rinne inserted her hand into the veil covering her head. Inside, her hand shined faintly, conjuring something.

"Here. It would be perfect."

She handed an eyepatch - clearly conjured from her Spirit mana - and handed it to her.

Seeing this, Kurumi widened her eyes in disgust.

"Haahhh? Are you saying I should use that thing? Do you have any idea how disgraceful this appearance already is? And you are telling me to use that..."

"Shido said it fits you right? Then why not?"

"Huh, unlike you, I'm not buying any of his sweet talk."

"Ha ha, but you said his praise honored you."

"Uh..."

At that, Kurumi was silenced. Her past self from five years ago **did** say that to Shido during the time travel trip.

Hesitantly, Kurumi took a look at the eyepatch on her hand, and finally took wore it on her left eye.

Seeing the past Kurumi in the present, Rinne failed to hold her laughter again. This time though, Kurumi was more embarrassed than annoyed.

"Maybe I should not have come here..." Kurumi regretted.

Rinne smiled sarcastically. "Hmm, what are you talking about, empress of time...? Going to this place was the perfect idea!"

All of a sudden, Kurumi drew out her shorter gun and twirled it on her hand.

"You know what? Suddenly I feel like I want to shoot someone right now."

Kurumi's voice definitely sounded her patience had thinned.

Suddenly feeling guilty, Rinne tried to suppress the nervousness in her voice.

"Um, Kurumi... don't be angry like that. Maybe I went a bit too far. I'm sorry."

Glancing at her, Kurumi seemed to contemplate it for a few seconds before she suddenly held her hand, a rare, genuine smile on her face.

"Well, I don't care. Let's have some fun tonight, ruler of fate."

Rinne was surprised.

Ruler of fate? Was that supposed to be a comeback to her joke?

" _Well, it certainly fits me…"_

* * *

"What should I buy next?"

The voice belonged to a tall, young girl clad in the Grim Reaper's robe.

She carried a staff as long as she was tall with a moon and flower decoration at its top.

If one paid attention, one could tell it was the same decoration as the one on Izayoi Miku's head in her concerts.

"Hee hee... this should be enough to surprise darling..."

A few tens of minutes ago, she received a phone call from her darling, saying to come over.

Tonight, there was a competition with the members of his harem.

The competition was simple: a survival match where the one who can keep silent wins.

So there she was. She decided to visit a mall before going off to her darling's house.

So that she could buy a few things that would help her attain victory in this competition.

Already carrying a few bags, she had finished both her shopping and her planning in her head.

"I guess it's time to go. I can't have them waiting for me."

" _I'll win this. I'm undefeated!"_

She was already imagining the shocked look of her darling and his harem.

Grinning, she failed to held back her giggles until she reached the mall entrance.

"…EH?"

She dropped her staff in shock.

"Tha... that's..."

In front of her very eyes, there was a girl with an eyepatch twirling a gun on her hand.

She was very beautiful. Even the eye-patch suited her very well.

But for her, it was not a stranger.

" _That's the gothic girl who helped darling! Her name was Tokisaki Kurumi, wasn't it?"_

Not wanting to be seen, she quickly picked up her staff, and went into a shop to hide, her eyes still directed at Kurumi.

Kurumi appeared different.

"What is she doing here? And why is she cosplaying?"

The girl continued to watch as Kurumi held the hand of another cosplayer girl and walked together.

"Is that her friend? She had a friend...?"

" _At any rate, I should inform darling about this. Tokisaki Kurumi is here, along with someone who might be her friend."_

She pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Hello? Darling?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All done. How was the chapter? Please share your comments~
> 
> Thank you for following "Alternate Reincarnation" this far!


	5. Approaching Nightmare & Haunting Ruler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Time for Chapter 5, "Approaching Nightmare & Haunting Ruler"

"Itadakimasu!"

Shido felt his anticipation rose when the voice of the various inhabitants of the Itsuka household, overlapped, signifying the beginning of dinner time.

It was quite a bit later than usual. Since he, as the chef, had invited Miku -the only Spirit he had sealed who didn't live near his residence- to come over his house, Shido wanted to wait for her so she could join the dinner.

Unfortunately, she didn't come as quickly as Shido had expected. It was almost half an hour since he called her, and she hadn't shown any signs of being here yet.

He didn't mind waiting for some more minutes, but some of the Spirits there certainly would. Left with little choice, he decided to begin dinner without Miku.

Despite the various different appetites that the Spirits had, all of them did share something in common; his cooking. That was one of the few things he could take pride with, not that there was much else to boast about.

However, tonight, they would notice something was different with his food.

"What is this, Shido? This is really delicious!"

Tohka's bright smile and excitement seemed to rise to even higher levels than usual.

"...Is this, pasta?"

Origami looked questioning, but she was devouring her food at a rate faster than usual.

Shido smiled. Of course, Origami would be the first to identify it. He supposed that deserved a reward.

"Yeah. I tested a new recipe, does it taste good?"

"This tastes like the dish served by the angels themselves!"

It was Kaguya who answered. Of course, she was being overdramatic as usual, but Shido knew her complements were genuine.

"Praise. This food is on a different class than your usual serve."

Shido felt his ego was stroked gently. Even Yuzuru wasn't immune to his new recipe.

"Wow..."

Natsumi, for once, appeared speechless, and she only stared at the food on the plate with wonder on her eyes.

"It's delicious..."

Yoshino was gently slamming the table beside the plate – a natural reaction if hers when she ate something good – while the puppet on her hand stared to him.

"Shido-kun, did you learn to cook better or something?"

Shido merely nodded sagely at Yoshinon's question.

He was very satisfied that the girls liked his food. It was because the food today was the result of another hellish training made by his sister.

Since Nia's rescue, Kotori had subjected him to various training, just like the ones he suffered through to date the Spirits.

Only, it was worse because it was not just dating skills this time. Things like his cooking skill, conversational skill, and even artistic skill were also beaten into his head…

_"All of that pays off in the end, huh? It's unfortunate those three didn't get to test it…"_

He glanced to the three empty seats in the room.

Ones that should be occupied by his sister Kotori, the guest Miku, and the newest girl, Nia.

"..."

All of a sudden, he could feel a vibration in his pocket.

"Hmm?"

Knowing that it came from his phone, he quickly drew it out and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Darling?"

He knew the owner of this voice. Izayoi Miku, the Spirit he had been waiting.

Usually, her voice would sound more affectionate. But this time, she sounded anxious, which already set alarm bells in his mind. Shido prepared himself.

"What's wrong, Miku?"

"Uh, I guess I must first say sorry for being late..."

Miku seemed to just recall that she had to come to his house. Shido smiled at her consideration.

"Ah, that's fine with me. But, we had to start dinner without you. Have you eaten something?"

Living separately or not, he was concerned about the idol's health.

From the phone, Shido could hear a giggle. Not expecting a laugh, he became concerned.

"Miku?"

"Ah, nothing. I just feel happy that you would wait for me. But darling, I can't go there now."

Her voice became ominous now, and she seemed to purposefully keep her voice down.

"Huh? Why?"

"...Maybe you wouldn't believe me, but here, right now, I'm tailing Tokisaki Kurumi."

The news pierced his ears.

"What!?"

Shido tried to keep his voice to a minimum.

However, his effort was for nothing as the girls' attention were directed to Shido since he answered the call.

"Did you just say that you are tailing Kurumi? Are you sure that's her?"

He decided to speak normally, revealing the information he heard just now to the Spirits around him.

As they heard the news, all Spirits present in the room let out a collective shudder of surprise.

"She looked a little different, but I'm sure that's her."

Miku sounded sure that she wouldn't mistake her for anyone else. However, that made Shido remember someone.

Sonogami Rinne.

For some reason, he couldn't stop nervousness from creeping into his voice. "Is she with someone?"

"Yeah. Do you know who is it? I was never told that she had a friend." Miku questioned back.

"I... kind of know her. Her name is Sonogami Rinne, another Spirit. In any case, Miku, stop following them." Shido's tone became serious.

"...I'm sorry, darling, but I can't." Miku replied, her voice stern.

"Why!? Following them is like chasing after death! I'll go there and take care of it!"

Shido didn't even want to think what would happen if she was noticed.

"But if I don't follow them, you won't have any means to reach her. Now, I'm in a mall and there is an anime festival right now. Not even you can find them in this kind of crowd."

That made sense, he supposed. "But what if you are-"

Miku cut her off. "Darling, are you underestimating me? Following girls without being noticed is my specialty!"

Internally, Shido felt exasperated Miku could proudly proclaim that, but his worries trumped that feeling.

"This isn't just any stalking! The stake is your life!"

There was silence. Then a deep breath.

"I know."

Shido couldn't stop himself from standing up from his seat. "Then-"

Miku cut him off again. "Darling, you were the one who saved me. But, do you remember who saved you when I was hunting for your blood with my [Gabriel]?"

There was an honest, painful bitterness in her voice, which made him mind halt for a second.

"It was Kurumi..."

His eyes widened as he realized what she meant. Miku clearly still felt guilty about the night of that festival, the Tenou Festival back then in September.

"I hate to admit it, but I owe that girl one. If she didn't help you reach out to me that day, I wouldn't be saved, would I? So darling, please. I want to help you save her."

"Uh..."

Shido halted. Wasn't this the exact kind of conversation he had with Kotori a few hours ago?

He would risk his life trying to save Spirits. Kotori was calling him out on that earlier, going as far as to pin him.

Thus… what right did he have to stop Miku from doing so?

_"…I think I understand your feelings a little, my cute little sister."_

He was almost amused by the sheer irony of the situation, if it wasn't so serious.

"Fine. I'll inform Kotori about this. If she decides that we shouldn't approach them, I want you to leave that place immediately. If she decides that we should..."

He stopped for a moment. What would Kotori say, if this was between her and him?

"…Don't be reckless. If worst comes to worst, run. I can save Kurumi anytime from now. But, I will never be able to save you if you die, Miku."

Shido poured every bit of his concern and care for Miku at those words.

There was a surprised gasp. Miku was clearly caught off-guard.

"Uh, I... thanks, darling. I'll see you here."

She sounded flustered and hung up the call. He didn't have time to ponder about that, though.

* * *

"Hmm..."

Hearing the voice of her own hums had become something of a routine for Kotori.

It had always been like that for every date. When various plans and predictions were conflicting inside her head, especially when she was alone.

As she was deep in thought however, her phone vibrated.

"Oh?"

The only ones who would call to her phone when she was in Fraxinus would be her brother, the Spirits around him, and Reine. Who was it?

Kotori answered the call. "Hello?"

"Kotori?"

It was a familiar voice. So it was her brother.

"Shido? What do you want, calling me this late?"

She wasn't annoyed, but she didn't exactly like to receive a call in the midst of planning.

"Kotori, this is bad. Miku is in danger."

It was the sheer urgency in his voice that made Kotori groan. Another bad news, this soon?

"What? In danger? Explain what you mean."

"She accidentally found Kurumi, and now she is following her."

" _Wait, what?"_

She didn't mishear that, did she? Did Shido just say Miku was trying to follow Tokisaki Kurumi, after accidentally running into her?

THAT WOMAN-

"What!? Did your insanity affect her or something?! Why didn't you stop her?"

Kotori felt her throat would be hurt for screaming so many times in the last few hours. First Shido, now this?

"I wanted to, but she told me this through the phone, and she insisted to follow her. She is currently in some mall I don't know, where an anime festival is taking place."

For once, Shido sounded genuinely annoyed when talking about a Spirit.

"Che! Don't tell me she tries to follow Kurumi because she wants you to try and save her."

Kotori clicked her tongue, trying to suppress her annoyance. She hoped Miku wasn't that stubborn… right?

"Actually, that's exactly how Miku wants it to be."

And there went her hope.

"ARGH! Today is the worst!"

She didn't try to hold her scream back this time. It was official, Itsuka Kotori was cursed!

First, Shido got himself smitten by an unknown woman who was Kurumi's ally and now this-

_"Wait, if Miku found Kurumi..."_

A realization hit her.

"Shido, did Miku say anything about Sonogami Rinne?"

"Yeah. She said Kurumi was with someone, it's probably her."

"..."

That made things different. Kotori began to weigh things in her head.

Under normal circumstances, following Kurumi wasn't rational. Especially not now when she was in the middle of an open, public location like a mall. She could use the civilians there as hostages.

Trying to seal her powers now was out of question. Kurumi couldn't be persuaded with normal means and she was actively against it. So following her for the reason of sealing her was definitely pointless right now.

However, it wasn't the most frequent thing in the world to run across Kurumi. This evening might just be her plan, but this time it was most likely coincidence, so the chances of this being a trap was low.

Gathering information about Kurumi had always been impossible. But now an opportunity to do just that presented itself.

More importantly, they could learn about the enigmatic Spirit who requested a date with Shido this evening.

The date with her would go smoother if they had information about her.

_"I'll be able to see that woman, too..."_

Wait. No.

_"No! No! I shouldn't let my personal feelings have a part here!"_

Great, now she was becoming stupid as well. She had to be calm and rational-

"Kotori, I don't want to press you, but we have no time!"

Shido seemed to be losing his patience. Kotori held back the urge to yell at him – it wouldn't help her or him – so she decided to be as stern as possible.

"I know! This matter involves lots of lives! I can't make the wrong decision!"

The two fell into a tense silence. Still, that seemed to work; Kotori knew Shido didn't want to interrupt her.

Problem was, she still needed to think – what to do with this turn of events?

_"Why is Kurumi even in a mall in the first place?"_

Origami told Kotori that she once managed to find Kurumi through beating up one of her clones who wandered around the city, citing that the real deal had always been observing and directing the clones from afar.

Considering Kurumi's personality, and Nightmare's record, there really was no reason for her to be in public locations like a mall _._

" _The only reason why she would do that..."_

…Was when she wanted to pull off events like that confrontation at the school.

When she was regaining her strength with [City of Devouring Time]. That's the only plausible reason why she was there.

And that would mean massacre.

There was no longer any need to hesitate. "Shido, we will send you there."

"Roger that."

Kotori found herself almost smiling at the conviction in his voice. Right now, there was probably nothing he would so so long as Miku was safe.

"I will look for the mall with Miku's signature on it. As soon as I find it, I will transport you there. Prepare yourself!"

"Now, let our stalking begin."

* * *

Miku felt her heart would burst out of her chest with the rate it was beating, but she felt there was no time to ponder over her situation.

She was afraid, she realized. And was also excited at the same time. The combination felt strange.

Her two targets – Tokisaki Kurumi and Sonogami Rinne – were sitting together on a bench, Kurumi on the left and Rinne on the right.

Meanwhile, she, as the stalker in robe, was sitting to a bench to their right. It seemed she was still unnoticed by the two of them.

Their benches were situated behind a stage, where some singers were performing and sang some anime theme songs.

Kurumi and Rinne appeared to be enjoying her music. That meant, she had to add more things to her note in her phone.

On her phone's screen, there was an elaborate note.

_Target(s): Tokisaki Kurumi, Sonogami Rinne._

_What the targets are doing: Walking around to see and comment at various stands without buying anything (for roughly 30 minutes), sitting down on a bench while enjoying a musical performance (currently ongoing)._

_Notable details: Both targets are cosplaying, Kurumi wears an eyepatch, Rinne has a veil to cover her face, targets are maintaining physical contact with each other with apparent affection._

_Analysis: Targets don't bring any money, targets are just here to have some fun, targets are good friends, targets are likely to have similar preferences with me._

It was honestly a little surprising.

She was never told Kurumi, the Spirit codenamed Nightmare, would have a friend to chat and do mundane things with.

" _It seems… I have misjudged her?"_

Tokisami Kurumi was not as lonely as she thought she was-

"Festivals sure are nice, aren't they?"

Miku stopped herself from editing her notes when she heard the voice she had identified as Rinne's.

"Are they? I personally think this one is lacklustre."

Kurumi said critically, before taking a look around, possibly to scan their environment.

Feeling her heart had jumped, she quickly pretended to play with her phone, while silently watching her surroundings with her eyes.

It was not as crowded as earlier, probably because the performance causing people to gather in front of the stage.

Fortunately for her, Kurumi didn't recognize the stalker right next to them, and sat back down.

" _Uwah… that was close…"_

Miku felt she had to agree with darling. Stalking these two felt like chasing after death.

But… she had to do it. She had to do this.

A moment later, Kurumi stood up. Miku leaned closer ever so slightly.

"We didn't buy anything to eat, did we?"

Kurumi spoke as if she had recalled something important.

"Now that you mention it, yeah. Let's go buy something."

Rinne moved to leave the bench, but then Kurumi suddenly moved to grab her in the shoulders.

"There's no need for both of us to walk for food. I'll get us something and you stay here."

Miku was a bit surprised. Kurumi was willing to do that for her?

Rinne sounded surprised behind the veil she wore. "Oh? Okay then. Thanks."

There was a smile on Kurumi's face. "Don't mention it."

If it was anyone else, it just a simple exchange, but Miku felt she had to note this one down.

" _This feels so unreal… eh?"_

Her phone received a message. It was from her darling.

It said 'Miku, I'm in the mall. Where are you?'

She quickly typed her reply.

'Darling, look for a stage with cosplayers singing. If you find it, go behind it and you'll find us. Be careful not to be seen by them.'

Miku then returned her focus to the Spirit who hid her face in the next bench.

She hoped her darling would reach this place first before Kurumi returned…

* * *

Roughly five minutes later, Miku noticed someone was running toward her from her right.

Whoever it was, they were very conspicuous. He or she wore a spiky, black and indigo helmet. It completely covered the wearer's face, though maybe it was transparent from the inside.

The person was also wearing a tight, dark purple suit with golden stripes and long, wrapped sleeves. Over it, the person wore a black and gold cloak with crimson spandex lining the inside, and a large black cape encircled the head.

It's very noticeable, especially if one was familiar with that one anime with giant robots and magical eyes, where the character who owned the costume, One, hailed from.

Miku raised an eyebrow when the cosplayer stopped in front of her. With a phone on hand, the person pressed a button.

That instant, she received a message. It was from Shido.

It said 'Miku, it's me, Shido. Right in front of you right now.'

" _Wait, what?"_

She stood up instantly. She had to examine the person claiming to be her darling in front of her.

" _This height, this body build... yeah, it's darling!"_

Miku was happy, but she couldn't spook the lond target. So she quickly held Shido by the arm and dragged him to a nearby shop.

Once inside, she finally turned toward her future husband and hugged him.

"Darling! You finally came!"

It felt as if a huge burden was off her shoulders. She was honestly getting nervous at having to follow two deadly Spirits alone.

"Ah, yeah."

Shido's voice sounded different from usual, Miku noticed. Probably because his pretty face was hidden under the mask.

Speaking of the mask… Miku released Shido and sent him a questioning look.

"...I know you must hide your identity, and cosplaying is the perfect way to do it. But... why One, of all people?"

"Kotori told me that this is part of strategy to stay unnoticed..."

Shido shifted uneasily as he spoke. It seemed her darling was not comfortable with the costume.

"But One's costume is like the most conspicuous cosplay costume of all time! How do you expect to hide yourself with that?"

Miku was starting to feel really worried. What if Sonogami Rinne noticed?

She turned to see how the target was doing-

"Eh?"

But, what caught her eye was something completely different.

Throughout the mall, she could see at least dozens of people wearing One's costume, just like her darling.

"What?" Miku couldn't stop herself from voicing her dumbfounded mind.

"Well, this is part of the strategy. If I wore this alone, then I will be noticed in no time. But if there were crowds of us, things are different."

Shido summed up the plan with a confident tone.

Oh… so that was how Kotori was doing it. Using the source anime as a reference, eh?

Miku couldn't stop herself form smiling. "Oh, so your little sister is a master stalker too."

"Hey... don't think you are having a private conversation right now."

Kotori's annoyed voice could be heard from the mask. Miku pouted at that, but she supposed that served to prove her point.

"See? She wouldn't even allow us to talk in private. Such magnificent skills!" She felt like laughing, but she stifled her giggle.

Kotori didn't sound amused. "Che... anyway, pay attention towards the targets! Don't let them out of your sight!"

She and her darling spoke as one. "Roger that!"

From inside the shop, the two of them acted as if they were just two people who agreed to meet up and go shopping together.

Miku noticed the other people wearing the One costumes also blended into the crowds, each with their own seemingly normal activities.

_"Wait... who are these people helping us?"_

The thought worried her. So she decided to tug Shido's cape.

"Darling?"

Shido turned toward her. "Yes?"

"Who are these people helping you?" If her hunch was correct, they were…

A sigh came from Shido's mask. "They are people of the Ratatoskr, and... everyone."

That confirmed her worries.

"Everyone? You mean the others, too?"

Wasn't that a bit too reckless? Miku was fully aware she was involving herself and her darling into danger. But to drag others was...

Then, as if Shido read her mind, he spoke again.

"Kotori said that Kurumi might be here to consume people's time. If she does it here...I don't even want to think about the number of casualties. So, just in case, the others are here, to stop her."

There were hints of annoyance in her darling's voice. Miku smiled a little at that. Despite agreeing, he clearly didn't want to put the Spirits in any danger.

Shido wasn't finished, however. "And anyway, they are your friends after all. If you are risking your life, how could they stand around and watch without doing anything?"

Miku felt her heart grew at those words. They really were great girls. And she didn't mean just to molest.

All she could manage was utter "Oh..."

She really should have thought about that.

But she could think about that later. For now, she had focus on this stalking.

"By the way, darling, Kurumi is currently away looking for food. That's why that girl is now alone."

Shido nodded. "Got that, Kotori?"

"Got it. I am informing the others."

* * *

Shido didn't understand how, or why, but he felt afraid.

He tried to keep himself calm and sound like his usual self as Miku spoke with him, which seemed to be successful. It seemed she didn't notice it at all.

But he couldn't deny it. He could tell that he was, at his heart, terrified.

_"That Astral Dress..."_

It was a beautiful clock dress with a shade of purple Shido had never seen before. It was decorated with golden extensions on the shoulders and hips, and with a curtain which reached down to her ankles.

Rinne herself also looked very different. Her face was covered with a purple, almost transparent veil and her hair – which was brown and only reached the neck back in the school – was now hot pink and long enough for its braids to reach the floor as she sat.

It looked very beautiful. All the Spirits Shido knew were, but Rinne was… for lack of a better word, hauntingly attractive. That was how different it felt.

However… for some reason, looking at Rinne's appearance now… it sent chills down his spine.

Something about it just **terrified** him.

" _What is happening here…?"_

It bothered him to no end.

"By the way, darling, who is that girl? I am sure I never heard about this Sonogami Rinne before."

Shido almost didn't register to Miku's question. The idol in Grim Reaper robe was a little bit closer to Rinne's position than him, and her back was turned on him.

He welcomed the distraction from his own mind, though.

"Well… you see, she is an ally of Kurumi who appeared just this evening. I have never met her before today, too."

Miku seemed to find that odd, as she turned from Rinne's direction to face him.

"Hmm? Does that mean you met her earlier today?"

Her thoughts were spot on. Shido nodded.

"Yes, and that's when she told me her name. I wasn't prepared to date her today, so I promised I would date her tomorrow. Kotori hasn't given her a codename yet."

The idol tilted her head, as if she was confused.

"You aren't prepared? Isn't preparation supposed to be your sister's job?"

"Well... it's kind of complicated."

He really didn't want to explain what he was feeling again. With that in his mind, he dodged the question.

Luckily for him, Kurumi finally returned with ice cream cones in both of her hands, approaching Rinne.

Miku immediately turned her back on him again when she noticed, and Shido did the same.

"Are ice creams fine? This is the only free food I can get around here."

Kurumi seemed a little annoyed when she said that.

"If you want to, I can get other foods for free. If I stretched my muscles a bit..."

All of a sudden, the goth girl grinned darkly in a true Nightmare fashion.

Shido gulped in understanding. Kurumi definitely meant robbery.

"No, no, it's fine." Much to his relief, Rinne seemed to be alarmed and against it. "Come on, gimme that."

Rinne extended her hand, but Kurumi deliberately moved her hand away as if she didn't want to hand over one of the cones.

Kurumi frowned. "Rinne, take that off. You can't eat while that's still on your face, right?" Kurumi smiled, referring to Rinne's veil.

Then, as if Rinne just realized it, her posture slouched. "Oh right. I was kind of used to it, so I don't notice."

As her hand moved to reach her veil, Shido tensed up, and he could tell Miku in front of him was, too.

Time seemed to slow down. Shido felt his anticipation, and anxiety, grew exponentially when Rinne slowly took off her veil.

What awaited beyond it-

"Is this what you want to see, partner?"

Made his heart stop entirely.

* * *

When Tohka heard Miku was tailing Tokisaki Kurumi, and a new Spirit named 'Sonogami Rinne' in some mall, she felt it only made sense for her to help Shido take care of it.

Ever since she truly understood what Shido had to do in order to save people like her – Spirits – Tohka understood there was no one else who could do the same.

So no matter what Shido chose to do, Tohka would give her everything to help him.

That included wearing this weird costume she was currently wearing now, no matter how uncomfortable it felt.

" _What kind of weirdo would wear things like this, anyway?"_

She had trouble when trying to force her thick, long hair into this goofy helmet thing, but with a little adjustment from Reine, the helmet seemed to… compress her hair?

Tohka didn't get it, but at least she could wear the full costume.

"My kinsman! Do not separate from me amongst these commoners! You might find yourself lost into the Sea of Souls!"

Kaguya was clad in identical costume with her, though she was much more enthusiastic than her with this sort of costume.

But Tohka felt it was just right for Kaguya to be like that.

"I am with you! Do you think we are close now?"

"Indeed we are! The crowds of our fellow Ones are dispersing, and starting to form a subtle encirclement to surround the target! Let us take position and prepare ourselves for anything!"

Tohka smiled behind her helmet. "Then, let's!"

Soon after finding a spot, Tohka finally got a good look of the target.

" _So… that is Sonogami Rinne? She looks different…"_

For some reason, looking at her appearance now reminded Tohka of her own Astral Dress.

Their Astral Dresses were nothing alike – Rinne's dress had different colors, was much longer and she also wore a veil – but the aura it had felt similar. The calm, serene flow of mana was so familiar it almost confused her.

Oblivious to her thoughts, next to her, Kaguya took out a camera.

"Hoo, is that her? She is different from the time we encountered her before. Now, both her figure and her dress is quite befitting of her status! If I have to put a name to it… her image reminds me of a ruler, I dare say even an empress. What do you think, my kinsman?"

Tohka mostly agreed with that assessment. But there was something else-

"She kinda reminds me of someone…"

Kaguya turned to face her. "That sounds very vague, my kinsman. Care to enlighten me with your wisdom?"

"I am not quite sure…" Tohka halted, there was someone. "Wait, look at that!"

A girl with a strange dress and an eyepatch covering her left eye came with two ice creams on her hand, approaching Rinne.

Who was that? Tohka couldn't remember any girl with an eyepatch.

"Hum?" Kaguya turned again, and saw the new girl. "Ho, what's with the Nightmare girl? She dresses differently than her usual blood red and shadow black ensemble. Is it to blend into the crowds of commoners?"

Tohka stared at Kaguya. Did she hear that right?

"That eyepatched girl is Kurumi!?"

"Huh? You can't recognize the Nightmare on sight? That's dangerous, my kinsman! Do not allow her admittedly well-thought out disguise to fool your eyes!"

At Kaguya's words, Tohka blinked, and focused on the eyepatched face.

…On second thought, that was Kurumi's face, alright. How could she not recognize it?!

"I can't believe it! She made fool of me!"

"Seems the legends saying the ability to change your physical form is indeed one of the great magics of darkness… it is truly unfortunate our position isn't close enough for us to hear the words coming out from their mouth! Perhaps they could be talking about the secrets of their magic!"

She felt she agreed with Kaguya's assessment; Kurumi was definitely talking with Rinne now. However, Tohka could only see them talking at this range, not hear the talk.

Her attempt to get closer was stopped though, when she saw Rinne suddenly moved her hand to the veil covering her face.

"Ohhh! My kinsman, stay back. I shall immortalize the moment this Spirit reveals her face and present it to our commander!"

Kaguya was a lot more excited than she expected, but Tohka too gulped in anticipation.

Slowly, Rinne took off the veil-

"…Eh?"

Crimson eyes stared back.

Tohka felt her body shiver.

" _What… what is this…?"_

It was almost as if her blood suddenly turned into ice.

She felt her ever reliable instincts were telling her… this Spirit, Sonogami Rinne, was **dangerous**.

" _But… why?"_

The only time she ever felt like this was when she fought bitterly with the newly awakened Origami…

But even then, it didn't quite compare to the feeling coming from those eyes. Origami never made her feel like running away.

" _Wh… who are you?"_

* * *

When Yoshino heard Miku was endangering herself, she couldn't sit still and watch.

She had seen the person several times before, but she had only ever talked with Tokisaki Kurumi once, during that day in the Tanabata Festival.

It was a short encounter, but from the short time Yoshino talked with her… she wouldn't really say the supposed Nightmare Spirit was a bad person.

Yoshino simply couldn't sense it. After years of being hunted by the AST, she could almost tell when people was looking at her with ill intent. Kurumi didn't have it.

However, she also recognized Kurumi was more than willing to hurt Miku, if her friend got in the way of the Spirit of Time.

So she would help Shido, her savior, her hero, to help Miku.

Even if that meant wearing… this strange costume.

"Yoshino, are you alright?"

Next to her, her new best friend – Natsumi – was also in the same costume as her.

"I am fine, Natsumi-san… just a little uncomfortable with this costume."

In truth, Yoshino felt a little envious with the green-haired Spirit. Natsumi was far more comfortable with the 'One' costume than her, and even recognized it on sight.

More than that, Yoshino couldn't have Yoshinon in her hand with this costume, so she had to take Yoshinon off and kept him within her costume, tightly on her chest.

Compared to Natsumi, who could move easily and smoothly within this costume as gracefully as if she was the actual character, Yoshino felt nervous and fidgety with this costume.

"Does the costume hinder you? Should I use [Haniel] (Witch of Forgery) to help you turn into One so you don't need to wear the costume? That would require me to draw more of my powers from Shido though, but if it is for Yoshino, I will-!"

At the increasingly panicked tone, Yoshino knew Natsumi would seriously do it if she didn't say anything, so she decided to grab Natsumi's hand to take her attention,

"No, no! I am fine, really! I am just a bit nervous without Yoshinon…"

"Ah… I see…"

Yoshino sighed in relief at being able to stop Natsumi, but she was also thankful for the offer.

" _Natsumi-san really is a good person…"_

"Thank you, Natsumi-san… I appreciate the thought, but I want to wear this costume like you. Natsumi-san looks so cool with it, so I want to try it, too…"

Natsumi's helmet twitched. Yoshino found that a bit strange.

"Eh? What's wrong, Natsumi-san?"

"N-no, nothing!"

Natsumi then muttered something under her breath, something like 'cute' and 'angel' but Yoshino couldn't make out what she said.

"L-look! The Ones are moving! They must have found the one we have to stalk! Sonogami Rinne, was it?"

At Natsumi's words, Yoshino found that it was true. Even from this position, Yoshino could see a finely dressed young woman, Sonogami Rinne, sitting on one of the many benches.

" _Whoa… she looks beautiful…"_

For some reason, Yoshino was reminded of Tohka's Princess form when she saw this Spirit's Astral Dress, even though the two weren't similar at all.

On her side, Natsumi grunted. "Humph… why is it so easy for the other Spirits to be so effortlessly beautiful, but I am not?"

Yoshino frowned slightly at that statement. "Natsumi-san, you are beautiful, too. Shido-san proved as much."

"I know, I know!" Natsumi humphed. "But it is still frustrating, to see someone like that. And she didn't even show her face!"

"Hum…" Yoshino wasn't frustrated, but she was curious. "I wonder how does she look like under the veil?"

Yoshino felt if Yoshinon was awake, he would have made some kind of gruesome comment about having large scars or something else just as bleak.

"Who knows? Let's just wait until… hey, is that Tokisaki Kurumi?"

From somewhere, a girl with a nice black and white dress and an eyepatch on her face appeared.

She looked different, but Yoshino wouldn't mistake that for anyone else.

"It is Kurumi-san. She looks a bit a different, though…"

"Why the cosplay, though?"

"Maybe it is her hobby?"

"Hobby is an understatement, Yoshino. That dress… that detail, it is too complete for it to be a simple hobby. At that level, it might as well be professional!"

Yoshino smiled lightly at Natsumi's rant. It seemed Honjou Nia was a good influence on her.

It was then Yoshino noticed Rinne was about to take off the veil covering her face.

" _Oh!"_

At that, she immediately became attentive. She couldn't hear them from this far, so she had to at least pay attention-

"…!"

Behind the veil were crimson eyes.

The eyes gazed at her.

Yoshino felt a scream was about to tear her throat.

" _I…"_

Breathing felt difficult. She couldn't stop herself from trembling. She felt like she wanted to run, but her legs refused to move as if they were frozen.

" _I…"_

What was this feeling…? It felt like… it felt like she was being chased by the AST again… it felt like the time before she created Yoshinon…

" _But why…? Why am I…"_

* * *

When Origami heard Izayoi Miku was trying to convince Shido to help her with Tokisaki Kurumi, she felt her respect for the idol rose.

It was not like she disliked Miku or anything of the sort. She simply saw the Spirit of Sounds was someone who shared the same fate as her, as a human who was recently turned into Spirit.

That was the extent of her feelings for her fellow Spirits, really. As someone who used to hate Spirits with a burning passion, that was about the most she could feel toward them now.

But, both in the past and in the present, Tokisaki Kurumi was an exception.

Origami would be the first person to say she didn't like Nightmare – not only the Spirit was dangerous to Shido's life, the woman was also dangerous to her lover's chastity and manhood.

Such a thing only belonged to the one most worthy to become Shido's bride, Tobiichi Origami. Only she and she alone was worthy of that.

Thus, Tokisaki Kurumi had to be destroyed.

At least, that was how it had always been, up until the time travel trip.

" _When she decided to help me, for some reason."_

To begin with, the whole fiasco – her finding the truth about her parents, her turning Inverse, history being rewritten – was only made possible because of Tokisaki Kurumi was willing to lend her power to herself, and then to Shido.

According to Shido, Kurumi had shot him with 2 bullets from the Angel of Time, the time travel bullet and the bullet which could connect their senses together.

Origami wasn't a fool. Kurumi had said, 'even I would be afraid to enter the real thing without trying it once.' She had claimed to use Origami as an experiment.

That was definitely a lie. If she was to be an experiment, then Kurumi would have used the bullet she used on Shido to watch over her actions in the past.

Kurumi didn't do so. The Nightmare Spirit, for whatever reason, was respecting her privacy and her wish, to change the past.

" _Why would she do that?"_

Origami couldn't think of many reasons to do so, from what she knew of Kurumi's personality.

It was inconceivable that Kurumi had forgotten one of her own abilities. It was also impossible for the crafty Spirit to be afraid to use it, since she used one on Shido without hesitation soon after.

The only possibility was, Kurumi was sympathizing with her wish.

That also made Origami remember. Kurumi had mentioned that time travelling backwards to 30 years ago would consume up enough mana to kill a Spirit.

" _That would mean Kurumi intends to time travel to that period of time."_

For what purpose, Origami didn't know. But it probably had something to do with the 'First Spacequake' which killed 150 millions people and devastated Eurasia.

Origami could guess what Kurumi's intention was… but she would not make presumptions.

The thought led her to an important, overlooked fact; she didn't know Tokisaki Kurumi.

Kurumi was not the person she seemed to be. Origami was convinced of that. If she was the unrepentant, mass-murdering psychopath of a woman she claimed to be…

" _Then she would not have helped Shido to save me."_

Perhaps others would say Kurumi merely wanted to see if history could be rewritten. Perhaps that was true.

But it was fact Kurumi had a hand in what Origami would call her salvation. She felt it was only right, if she could help to repay the debt in kind.

Call it her intuition, but Origami was almost certain Miku felt the same in regards to Tokisaki Kurumi. After all, the idol too, owed Kurumi that much during the Tenou Festival.

Thus, she would do everything in her power to help Shido and Miku tonight.

Wearing this costume was nothing but a mere triviality in her quest.

"Question. Master Origami, do you think these costumes Kotori has provided us will be effective?"

Behind her, Yuzuru – her student, which she was proud of – voiced her concern.

Origami turned around to face her, who was also clad in the same costume as her.

"Although it is conspicuous, it is a fairly well-thought out strategy to have numerous people posing as Ones. It is, after all, a reference to the anime source."

She had to praise Kotori's strategy. Her student didn't seem convinced, however.

"Relent. Yuzuru admits she can see the advantages of the strategy are quite useful in the current situation. Doubt. Be that as it may, Yuzuru couldn't help but think not being spotted at all would be safer. We could still be recognized this way."

Origami had to admit, that possibility was not zero. But-

"Izayoi Miku has been following our targets without alerting them, and she has informed Shido of her location as well. If the two Spirits failed to notice her, I doubt they could recognize us."

"Shock. Yuzuru didn't consider that information. No, Yuzuru didn't think of that logic at all. Wonder. As expected, Master Origami is observant."

Despite herself, Origami had to admit hearing Yuzuru praise her didn't sound bad at all.

"Observation. The Ones are dispersing ahead of us. Proposal. Should we move?"

At Yuzuru's statement, Origami nodded and together they both quickly took position near the escalators of the mall as soon as the other Ones had split up.

" _That is Sonogami Rinne, I presume."_

Origami was a little surprised at the Spirit's current form. It was vastly different than the one she saw a few hours ago, right after the school was over.

"Curious. That Sonogami Rinne, she looks very different from before. Praise. She is very beautiful… Yuzuru is impressed."

Yuzuru was clearly of the same thought process as her, judging by those words.

"…I think this is the second time I see a Spirit undergoing such a drastic physical change on the body through the invocation of the Astral Dress."

That realization bothered Origami a bit.

"Question. When was the first time?"

"…When I Inversed, apparently my hair also grew in length, from what I see in Ratatoskr's records."

Yuzuru snapped her neck to her direction, as if she was horrified by her answer.

"…Apology. Yuzuru hasn't noticed until Master Origami pointed it out. Yuzuru also apologizes for any ill memories Yuzuru brought up with her question."

Origami shook her head. "No, it is fine. I am the one who brought the topic up. I intended to share my observation with you."

Yuzuru bowed her head a bit. "Gratitude. Yuzuru is thankful for the piece of information. Hypothesis. Does Master Origami think the physical change on this Spirit is significant?"

"It is possible, and I can come up with a few theories if it is, but there are too little information and too few samples to draw any conclusion. For now, let us focus on our mission.

"Agreement. Let's prepare our cameras."

Quickly, Origami took out the camera she had always brought with her just in case she wanted to take Shido's photo.

It was around the same moment, another girl approached Sonogami Rinne on the bench, two cones of ice cream in her hand.

Origami narrowed her eyes. The dress and the hairstyle were different, and there was an eyepatch, but that was definitely-

"Tokisaki Kurumi…"

"Curious. Her appearance is also different."

Instantly, Origami understood why Kurumi had a different appearance. She had appeared often enough for both the AST and the DEM to recognize her on sight, after all.

" _To cosplay a disguise… impressive."_

Both her and Yuzuru kept silent. There was no need to speak anymore, they simply had to wait for the opportunity.

…Which came sooner than expected, as Kurumi seemed to be asking the other Spirit to take off her veil, which was obliged.

Reflexively, Origami inhaled a deep breath. Maximum concentration would be necessary for this.

Soon, Rinne's hand moved to take off the veil on her face-

"Kuh!?"

Crimson eyes awaited behind it.

Origami felt its gaze had physically pressured her entire body.

" _W-what…?"_

Her hands were shaking, she couldn't raise her camera to take a photo – no, her entire body was trembling.

Origami recognized this feeling. She had experienced it, many times. But… it was never this bad.

" _What's happening…?"_

 **Fear**. Overwhelming fear. There was nothing else which could explain what she was experiencing.

" _But… how…? How is she…"_

* * *

"Whoa…! As expected, the beauty underneath that veil would be the elegant type to match her dress!"

Shido heard Miku's voice in front of him.

But his mind was completely overwhelmed.

Those beautiful, crimson eyes.

He had seen it before. Something told him.

Memory… a strong memory, was telling him.

Once again, his vision flickered.

What he saw was somewhere bright, bathed in light.

" _Please die, Itsuka Shido."_

His heart skipped a beat at those words.

" _In order to repeat it all once more..."_

It sounded apologetic. It didn't at all sound like a death threat.

" _Until you can find your happiness..."_

He saw Rinne approach him.

" _[_ _ **Paradise Lost**_ _]!"_

 **Agony** assaulted his body.

Suddenly, his strength was gone.

"Eh..."

He fell to the ground. His vision then blurred.

"Wh... what the..."

Everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was the chapter? Share your thoughts in the comments~
> 
> Thank you for following "Alternate Reincarnation" this far!


	6. Awakening the Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Time for Chapter 6, "Awakening the Chaos".
> 
> A familiar character is going to appear... enjoy!

"How's our two targets?"

Kotori decided to open the communication network to all of the stalkers at once when she posed her question.

Although it was within the Fraxinus, the ship was still under repairs within the Ratatoskr's secret underground base.

Still, the control room was not damaged, and Kotori was still coordinating the others from the room.

"Report." It was Yuzuru who spoke first. "They haven't finished their ice creams."

"Um..." Miku spoke next. "Kotori-san, may I ask something?"

Kotori didn't see a reason to say no. "Yeah?"

"How's their affection? I'm kind of curious."

Her mind halted. It hit Kotori that she honestly wasn't able to answer that.

Unfortunately, it seemed both Kurumi and Rinne possessed the uncanny ability to stay undetected even by Ratatoskr's equipment.

If they couldn't be detected, neither could their affections be calculated.

The only time Kurumi was detected -and thus, had her mental state read- was during her date with Shido.

Even then, it was only one of her clones. The real deal never had her mental state read, ever.

"Sorry, Miku, but we can't get a reading on either of them."

"Ow, that's too bad. I was hoping for, like, very high points! Since they seemed to be enjoying themselves."

Miku whined with a hint of frustration.

Kotori could tell at this exact moment that everyone was processing what Miku had actually meant.

It was followed by a mocking laugh of Kaguya.

"Kukuku. Miku, not one of the Spirits would share the taste of a twisted, dangerous songstress such as yourself."

"Pity. Miku is looking for her comrade in arms in our race. Unfortunately, she is unique." Yuzuru insulted in her own way.

"Eh, what?"

For some reason, Natsumi sounded dumbfounded. Kotori found that a bit amusing.

Though, why were Tohka and Yoshino silent? Origami was par for the course – she hardly reacted to anything – but those two should at least make a noise.

Miku hardly seemed fazed, however.

"Ow, everyone is being a meanie today, right, dar... ling?"

The diva suddenly halted. Then there was a shocked gasp.

* * *

"Darling?!"

Seeing as her darling lying on the floor motionlessly behind her, Miku reflexively ran toward and knelt next to Shido.

"What's wrong, Miku?"

Kotori's sound could be heard from the communicator in Shido's mask.

She didn't immediately respond, her darling came first!

With care, Miku held the precious body of her darling in her arms. Without missing a beat, she opened the mask.

What she saw almost made her wish she hadn't opened the mask.

His face was dripping with cold sweat, and his handsome features were twisted – as if he was in a lot of pain.

It didn't help to make her calm down. Not at all.

"Kotori-san! Darling is... he is unconscious!"

* * *

"What did you say!?"

Kotori didn't even get an answer.

"Shido is what?!"

"Shock. What happened to Shido!?"

"Shido-san...!"

"Shido!"

All of the Spirits quickly descended into panic.

The repeated yell hurt Kotori's ears. However, she quickly quelled her building emotions and calmed down.

She cleared her throat for a yell. "Wait, everyone! Calm down and stay in your position!"

"Why!?" Tohka yelled back. "Shido is-"

"Remember your mission! We are stalking the most dangerous Spirit right now! What will happen if you have to fight those two with Shido still around?"

The Spirits became silent. Of course, worst case scenario, at least Shido would die. Nobody among them wanted that.

Seeing as they calmed down a bit, Kotori turned her chair to face the other side of the room.

"Reine, how's Shido's condition?"

"According to these numbers..."

The sleepy analyst, Murasame Reine began to speak in her usual tone as she stared at the screen.

"There's no irregularity in his vitals, but Shin suffered a huge drop in his mental state. Most likely, he lost consciousness because of experiencing something similar to the Realizer DEM put within Honjou Nia."

Reine explained. She was referring to the Inversion of Nia a few weeks ago.

"...But Shido has no such devices in his head isn't he?" Kotori questioned.

"True. We can't detect any Realizer within Shin's body." Reine confirmed.

"However, in any case, something is clearly going on within Shin's mind. His mental state is steadily deteriorating, even in his unconsciousness."

Reine took a look at the screen displaying Shido's status. Almost all parameters were slowly decreasing.

"Damn it..."

Kotori cursed her luck as she took a look the parameter. She had to think fast.

"There's no choice. I'll order my men to retrieve Shido back. As for the mission..."

She paused. Could they afford to stop now? No.

"Continue the mission. Our objective is to gather information and to stop them if they really planned to attack civilians, so it doesn't need Shido to be around."

"Yes, sir!"

Most of the non-Spirit stalkers were as loyal as ever, it seemed.

"…Very well, Kotori."

"Tch. Order acknowledged, Itsuka Kotori."

"We have our mission, I suppose."

"Obedience. We will continue stalking."

The Spirits replied later than the others, but they complied. Kotori nodded at that.

"One of the Non-Spirit Stalking Team, please return with a photo of the targets and Shido."

* * *

It was about 20 minutes after Shido's mysterious collapsing.

Pne of the non-Spirit stalkers had arrived to Ratatoskr's underground base, with Shido to be sent to the medical room and a camera for her.

"Good work. You may rest and let the others do the rest."

"Thank you, sir."

After dismissing her soldier, Kotori decided to see the photos he shot.

The first picture was someone with ankle-reaching, braided pink hair, purple dress, a headdress, and a veil covering her face, sitting calmly on a bench.

_"So this is Sonogami Rinne? Is this she in her Astral Dress?"_

For some reason, it felt… familiar. But she was sure this was the first time she had seen it.

…It was pointless to think about it now. For now, she had to move onto the next.

The second shot was Rinne being approached by someone Kotori knew.

Tokisaki Kurumi, with a monotone blouse, a skirt that had laces and frills, and her hair was decorated with an Alice band.

Conspicuously, she wore an eyepatch, and were carrying two ice creams.

_"What the? Is she cosplaying?"_

The ice creams were for both of them, obviously. But why would Kurumi wear such costumes?

Probably for disguises. Whatever, it wasn't important. Next.

"…Huh?"

The third photo was the one she was looking for.

It when Rinne took off her veil – revealing her crimson-eyed face, and accepting Kurumi's ice cream.

" _Wha…"_

Chills instantly ran down her spine.

Without even realizing it, her fingers had instinctively moved to turn off the photo.

"…Wh, what is this...?"

No, she had to calm down…!

Deep breath…

Deep breath…

_"…What is this feeling?"_

She only noticed just now; Her hands were shaking.

_"Is it... fear?"_

That didn't make any sense.

_"Why? Why am I afraid? Of what? Her?"_

Was this her powers? Could this Spirit affect her, even through a camera?

_"Is this why he felt strange around her too?"_

* * *

It was minutes before midnight.

Most of the shops were closed, and the lights were off everywhere in the mall except in the center of the ground floor, where concerts performed by famous singers were almost over.

Rinne was now in the second uppermost floor alongside her friend, where it was almost completely deserted, watching the concert and a sea of people below them.

As the festival was close to its end, they had decided to begin chatting about what did they feel about the festival.

It was the first anime festival for Rinne, so naturally she learned of many things. A lot of famous authors, dozens of great stories, and unbelievably memorable characters.

Although, she would be lying if she said everything was good. There were a few underwhelming works here and there, special mention went to the cosplayers and fans who tried to sing anime theme songs.

But overall, Rinne enjoyed the festival. She finally understood why Kurumi liked...er, used to like these stuffs so much.

For Kurumi, although she said that she no longer wanted to have anything to do with her past, she was enthusiastic to participate in various stands.

Much more critical to everything, Kurumi almost never spoke positively about the festival, and all her opinions were brutally honest. Maybe if the criticized ones were here, they would shed tears of blood out of the sheer negativity of her comments.

But it was understandable. After all, it was a nice, if ephemeral, return to her past. Kurumi would never admit it, but she too was enjoying the festival.

After they chatted long enough though, Kurumi decided to change the subject into something more serious.

"Hmm, those people are no longer here. Have they given up?"

Kurumi looked around. Rinne knew she only did that because she was being dramatic, though.

If she herself had been aware of their presence for hours, then she was sure Kurumi had noticed even earlier.

"Probably because those Spirits were among them... and they need to rest."

Rinne decided to share her opinion. After all, they were not at their full strength. Their bodies were not completely sustained by their mana at sealed state.

"Heh... they must be pulling their hairs out of frustration. Followed us for hours, and learned nothing important."

Kurumi chuckled darkly. Rinne found her sense of humor a bit amusing, but she she had to correct Kurumi about that point.

"Hee hee... no. They actually do learn something."

Kurumi seemed surprised, and turned to her. Her crimson orbs met Kurumi's mismatched ones.

"What?"

"They must be sure at this point that we are not just allies of convenience. We are actual friends."

"That's not something important, ain't it?" Kurumi raised an eyebrow. "Who cares about what they think about us?"

"But it is an important info for them. Because they didn't expect that someone like you could actually have fun like a normal girl." It was Rinne's turn to chuckle.

Kurumi's lips curved into a frown.

"Oh, yeah... and that would convince Shido-san to try and save me more..."

Rinne flinched at her partner's complaint.

_"…Do you refuse redemption that much?"_

From the very beginning, Rinne knew her partner didn't like to be viewed as a 'good person.' Kurumi didn't want to be 'saved.' She wanted none of the warmth other people wished. Of course, the best way to do all of that was to commit atrocities.

Murder. The act of taking the lives of others. That was Kurumi's only way to survive. And with time, it became her way of living. Murder no longer became a burden to carry, but rather, it became an obligation. An equivalent of eating properly.

Although she was Kurumi's partner, Rinne never agreed to that. She could **not** agree to that. That's why Rinne had asked Kurumi to promise her one thing: do not kill anyone when she was around.

Of course, that didn't apply whenever they were separate. And Rinne knew she couldn't change that for her.

_"If only we met before you became a Spirit, Kurumi... maybe things would've been different."_

"May we join in?"

A familiar voice suddenly broke the silence between them.

The two of them turned around to the direction of the voice. The lights in that floor was off, and there were only darkness behind them.

Rinne however, knew who was talking. Or rather, who **were**.

"What's wrong? [Mes]?"

As the Kurumi beside her said that, a bunch of Kurumi clones clad in their Astral Dresses gradually revealed themselves in the darkness.

Rinne knew they were women with a mission, but did they really need to be that… dramatic?

"All stalkers are confirmed to have left the mall."

"No signs of AST or DEM in the area."

"[Me], I have something urgent to report."

So the Kurumi clones reported. However, Rinne found herself surprised when she noticed the last one appeared to be anxious.

Kurumi? Anxious?

"Ara? Return then."

The real Kurumi then gestured her hand – and with that command her shadow grew in size, approaching the group of clones. All the Kurumis quickly jumped in and disappeared into the pool of darkness.

After her shadow returned to its original size, the only Kurumi left closed her visible eye for a moment. Rinne knew that she was receiving the memories of her duplicates at the moment.

"...Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

Now the real Kurumi sounded anxious. Worry flashed her mind – that didn't happen to her partner often.

"...Something happened to Shido-san."

Rinne almost didn't want to believe she heard that.

"…What? Explain."

Rinne suppressed the sudden fear she felt as best as she could from her voice.

"Wait. This would be much faster."

Kurumi's flintlock suddenly flung itself out of her shadow, and the Nightmare Spirit caught it in her right hand.

"[Zafkiel]. [Yod]."

As Kurumi chanted the two names, Rinne already knew what the Spirit of Time was about to do.

Mentally preparing herself, Rinne stood in a position where her head was right next to Kurumi's.

Kurumi put her gun on her right temple, and fired through her own head.

The bullet harmlessly passed through Kurumi's head and into her own, transferring Kurumi's recent memories to her.

"Oh..."

This is…

Shido had collapsed…?

_"I have to confirm his safety...!"_

She was so afraid for his fate, that she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"[Cassiel]! [Web of Causality]!"

Responding to her command, her Angel Cassiel manifested behind her; its appearance had changed. It was no longer a circle; now it was a complete sphere, even more similar to a miniature spacequake.

From within the dark sphere, innumerable amount red-colored threads manifested, with each thread heading toward different directions, passing through whatever obstruction on their way as if they were not even there.

Their sheer number alone were enough to fill the entire mall, but no one even realized that they were entangled by countless immaterial threads. Nor they could 'see' it.

Next to her, Kurumi took off her eyepatch.

"[Strings of Fate...]"

Reverently, Kurumi whispered. Rinne smiled a bit at that. The Spirit of Time had always liked it whenever she got the chance to see her Cassiel in action.

_"She is quite lucky too, to have Zafkiel..."_

After all, not even other Spirits could see what she had summoned. With her right eye, Kurumi was just like the others. She couldn't see the threads.

But with her left, golden clock eye, it became visible. And apparently, the beauty of the Red Strings of Fate had charmed her.

Rinne still remembered how she explained the nature of her powers to Kurumi, a few years back.

_"Everyone and everything in the world had a 'String of Fate' attached to them. These intangible forces were in control of their existence. Cassiel was the only one capable of observing these Strings, and by extension, bend it to the user's will."_

Web of Causality, Cassiel's primary power, would allow the observation of these Strings, allowing its user to see into the currents of destiny, observe events surrounding people's lives, and tell the possibilities of their futures.

Of course, even such an amazing ability was still bound by limitations. She couldn't observe the Strings of anyone she had never known before.

She also couldn't see people's pasts, because parts of the Strings depicting their previous lives had disappeared into the darkness of Cassiel's sphere.

Also, for some reason, Rinne couldn't observe the String of Fate belonging to Phantom.

However still, it was useful, and through this ability, Rinne had observed Shido and the others throughout the entire year she and Kurumi were apart. Hence why she knew everything he did in the time period.

Now though... she found an abnormality in the flow of causality.

"This is..."

"What? Is he in danger?"

No, this was not a danger... not an immediate one, at least. However, Rinne could barely believe what she just read.

"No, but..."

She paused in hesitation. Was this real?

"Shido's String split into two."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

Kurumi raised a brow in confusion. It was only natural, she didn't understand how to read the Web.

"That means... something was born from him."

* * *

"..."

"Owh...?"

Shido opened his eyes.

"Where am I...?"

It took him a few moments to realize he realized that he was lying on a bed.

This bed… didn't seem to be in his own though.

The room he was in seemed similar to the medical rooms within the Fraxinus. Was this within the airship?

Wait, no. Fraxinus was under repairs. This must be inside the underground base belonging to Ratatoskr, then.

But… what had happened? Why was he here?

Then it hit him.

_"Oh, right... when I was stalking her... I lost consciousness, did I?"_

"...Ugh!"

Just thinking about it caused pain in his head.

Paradise Lost.

It was a name mentioned by someone who looked like Sonogami Rinne.

Who then proceeded to kill him.

Shido could feel his body tremble. What the heck was this feeling… what was happening? Why did he-

_"Um, are you okay, Papa?"_

A completely unfamiliar, girlish voice was heard in his ears.

"Eh?"

He knew he was dumbfounded. There was nobody inside the room beside himself… right?

Yet he clearly heard a voice. Was he imagining it?

"Err... who are you?"

 _"Ehhhh? Papa doesn't recognize me?_ "

There was a tone of confusion in the voice now.

_"Is she calling me her Papa? Is this some kind of a joke?"_

_"Eh, eh, but it's true! You are my Papa! Really!"_

…

Did the voice just read his mind?

"What…!? Are you reading my mind or something?!"

This was dangerous. This was really dangerous. What was this voice doing to him?

_"Hmm...? But, I AM inside Papa's mind."_

"…What?"

For a moment, his mind went blank.

_"Uh... didn't I explain it correctly...?"_

…He wanted to 'WHHAAATTTT' – he decided he should keep that into himself.

Unfortunately, there was a gasp. _"Whoa, is it that surprising?!"_

Shido almost couldn't believe he heard that one.

_"Of course it is! What are you doing inside my mind!?"_

_"Eh, I should not? Then how should I communicate with Papa?"_

_"Seriously? Why don't you do it the usual way, by appearing and talking with me?"_

_"If that's what Papa wanted..."_

…This was ridiculous. This must be a nightmare caused by whatever had knocked him out earlier.

Well, he wouldn't have any of it. He decided to lie down and rest again – perhaps sleeping within a dream would make him wake up?

" _That theory sounds ridiculous but I should try- eh?_

Before he could put that theory into test, light began to gather around near him, slowly forming a humanoid shape.

"What the..."

As it completed, Shido stopped himself from cursing.

It was a little girl with pink eyes.

She had a long, plum hair, which she tied with a single, long braid that reached her short legs, and a bow at the top of her head.

Clad in a lavish, red dress with a gold emblem on its center, and a large robe which reached her feet.

Her appearance really brought Sonogami Rinne, in her Spirit form at least, into mind.

"Like this?"

The girl smiled brightly. Shido couldn't even respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was the chapter? Like usual, share it in the comments~
> 
> I decided to include the new girl - Rio - for a reason. I found out in Date A Live Twin Edition: Rio Reincarnation, that Rio is, for all intents and purposes, a manifestation of Shido's longing for Rinne, and so, she appeared by taking Ruler's power, Eden.
> 
> Since I wanted this fan fic to follow canon's logic as much as possible (without diverging to AU status, but not outright denying it either) and because this fan fic occurred after the end of Rinne Utopia, it doesn't make any logical sense if Shido met Rinne, but didn't create Rio from his powers.
> 
> I admit, I wasn't going to include Rio at all, and it shook my plans for a while. But I have created another plot with her in it, and in another 2 weeks or so I can probably post the next chapter. Thank you for following "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	7. Her Name Is Rio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Now with Chapter 7, "Her Name Is Rio".
> 
> I don't think I will ever say much in A/N except if I had an announcement...

"Papa?"

As the little girl in front of him asked, she leaned her petite body closer to Shido.

"Are you okay?"

Hearing the question, Shido snapped back to reality.

"Uh, um... yeah, I think I'm okay.

_"Wait, no!"_

He immediately recalled what was happening in front of his eyes.

"Wait, wait, wait..."

Shido closed his eyes as he frantically moved his hands in front of him as to tell the girl not to get closer.

"Papa...?"

As the girl spoke again, more concerned this time, Shido opened his eyes slightly, taking a peek at the little girl.

_"She really does look like her... Sonogami Rinne..."_

Shido could tell his brain was overloading again. He was already confused with the events of this evening, then losing consciousness tonight. And it was topped of by **this**.

But since he didn't pass out again, he supposed he could at least talk with the girl.

"Okay... first of all, who are you?"

The girl titled her head to her side, as if confused.

"Um... Papa's daughter?"

Shido blushed a little. He was embarrassed of being referred to as Papa, but it confused him just as much.

"And... why do you call me 'Papa'?"

"Because I was born from Papa."

"Eh?"

Shido raised his brow at that statement. His attention was fully on her now.

_"Born from me? What is she talking about?"_

"Okay, can you explain about that? What did I do to give birth to you?"

The girl seemed to be slightly upset from Shido's words.

"Papa, you didn't create me alone. There's Mama, too!"

"Ma, Mama? Who?"

Although asking, somewhere in his mind Shido already had a vague idea of the mother of this girl.

"Don't tell me...it's Rinne?"

"Yeah! Papa shouldn't forget about Mama!"

Shido put a palm on his face. He was processing the situation.

_"Okay. What kind of situation I'm trapped in, now?"_

After a moment, Shido tossed his blanket aside and stood up from the bed.

"Papa? Where are you going?"

"Kotori and Reine-san. I'm sure they can explain about you."

* * *

"I'm done with the reports."

Origami's voice sounded like she was still in the AST, reporting to her higher ups.

"I see. Good work, Origami. How's the others?"

"Yatogami Tohka, Yoshino and Natsumi have fallen asleep. The Yamais are in their room, although considering the noise they are probably not asleep yet. Izayoi Miku have returned to her home."

Even though Origami explained in a matter-of-fact manner, Kotori didn't pay much attention to the status report as she was pondering about the stalking mission results.

Tokisaki Kurumi and Sonogami Rinne were just enjoying the festival for fun. That was the conclusion the stalkers reached to.

It was supposed to be normal, since they were both girls. But the problem with this theory was how abnormal both the targets were.

Even though Nia said that each and every Spirit used to be human, Kotori could barely believe that's the case with the Nightmare Spirit. She had not shown a single humanizing emotion or action in all her appearances before.

But this mission proved otherwise. Although Kotori didn't like it, Shido was right. Perhaps she wasn't beyond salvation.

As for Rinne... whom the Ratatoskr had given the code-name [Ruler] befitting her appearance, Kotori couldn't say anything. They had too little information about her, let alone evaluate whether her actions were normal or not.

On the plus side, she seemed much less threatening than Kurumi. From Shido's report and the stalking today, her actions and temper were easily the most stable among Spirits known so far.

On the other hand, she couldn't get why would such a person hang out with... heck, even getting along well with Kurumi. They were almost polar opposites, and yet their friendship appeared too natural to be faked.

_"And then there's this... fear coming from her... just what the heck is up with her?"_

"Itsuka Kotori?"

"Huh? Yeah?"

As soon as she heard Origami called her name, Kotori's mind was snapped back to reality.

"Have you seen Ruler's face?"

"Yeah, I did. What about it?"

At the other side, Origami seemed to hesitate for a moment, but she continued.

"...Do you feel anything from her?"

Kotori raised an eyebrow. Yeah, she did feel weird seeing her, but she hadn't told anyone about it.

_"Oh, then Origami too..."_

"Are you saying some sort of fear? Yeah, I did. You too?"

"So you also felt it. May I ask another question then? Do you know what it is?"

Kotori scratched the back of her head.

"No, actually... it might be related to her powers, or some other unseen factors entirely."

"I see..."

Kotori wanted to say more, but it was then that she realized just how tired she was, as she let out a yawn.

"I suppose let's call it a night. Good work, and have some rest. You still have school tomorrow, after all."

"I could say the same to you. I was a soldier, and I'm more used to sleepless nights. Sleep well."

After she cut off the communication line, Kotori left the chair and subsequently, the room.

As she went out of the Fraxinus' hangar, she walked down the underground hallway leading to the medical rooms.

_"Is he up, yet?"_

Thinking about Shido, Kotori wondered as she walked slowly.

However, as soon as she turned right past a corner, she found the person she was looking for.

With a familiar-looking girl on his back, riding him piggyback style.

Kotori widened her eyes, and immediately raised her guard.

"Shi... Shido?"

"Kotori?"

"Wh, who is that girl behind you?"

"Err... I can't explain about that."

However, the girl on his back interjected.

"Papa, you are so mean! I'm Papa's daughter!"

Shido's expression turned into one of horror as Kotori threw him a death glare.

_"What did she say...? Daughter...? Shido had done that...?"_

Kotori took a look at the girl on his back. Young, but not infant. Which meant Shido had been hiding her for years.

All of Kotori's concern for Shido a few moments ago was replaced by flames of anger. And probably jealousy too a bit.

"Shido... you had a daughter?"

"Wa, wait, no, she doesn't mean it that way! Oh my-"

"You monster!"

Not giving Shido a chance to say anything, Kotori spun around to land one of her feet on Shido's jaw.

However, after a few moments her foot didn't feel like it had hit a hard surface.

Kotori found that the girl on Shido's back had effortlessly **caught** her kick, while still holding on Shido.

Both Kotori and Shido himself widened their eyes in surprise, especially since she didn't look strong enough to do so.

"No one hurts Papa when I'm around."

The little girl said in a threatening tone. Her eyes were staring daggers at Kotori.

Kotori wanted to pull her foot back, but the little girl wasn't letting her go.

_"What kind of strength this kid had? Only Spirits could have this kind of power!"_

"Apologize to Papa! Then I'll let you go!"

As surprised as she was, Kotori didn't expect that from the little girl.

"What? Why?"

"You were about to hurt Papa, so shouldn't you be sorry?"

"Urg..."

As much as she would hate to admit it, this girl was right. Kotori didn't give Shido any chance to explain before she tried to kick him.

_"I suppose she is right... I let my temper got the best out of me again."_

Kotori bowed her head as much as she could with one leg.

"I'm sorry, Shido."

"Ah, it's fine."

The little girl smiled at the exchange, and let Kotori's foot go.

As Kotori was back to her two feet, she inhaled a deep breath to calm herself down.

"So, Shido, do you have anything to explain to me?"

Back to her usual commander persona, Kotori spoke with a professional tone.

Shido sighed.

"I said it... I can't."

* * *

"Sorry, did I make you wait?"

Reine said that as the Fraxinus control room's door opened before her.

She was clad in her usual Ratatoskr uniform. The analyst was rarely called by Kotori through a message this late, so she figured it would be duty-related.

As soon as she was inside, she quickly scanned the room.

Kotori was sitting on her captain chair, while Shido, and a little girl on her back, was beside the captain's seat.

Reine squinted her eyes.

_"Who is this...?"_

"Ah, Reine. Sorry to call you at this hour, but you didn't sleep, right?"

"It's part of my job. Pay no heed."

As soon as she and Kotori exchanged the initial greeting, Reine turned her gaze to Shido, or rather, the girl with him.

"And who is this?"

It was Kotori who answered the question.

"And that's what we want you to analyze."

Shido went on explaining about what had been happening since he woke up until now.

Kotori frowned more and more as she listened to the story while the girl they had been talking about seemed to be utterly confused... about what should be confused over.

"I see..."

The analyst touched her chin with her hand, processing the whole information.

"So, could you please run a check on her?"

"Of course."

As Kotori asked her the obvious, Reine then quickly approached Shido, a move which neither Shido or Kotori were expecting.

Her face was a few centimeters away from Shido's, prompting Shido to lose his composure in embarrassment.

"Um, Reine-san?"

"Shin's daughter, I take it?"

Seeing as Reine ignored Shido, the Itsuka siblings then understood her intentions. She was focusing on the girl, not him.

Kotori didn't appear to like it when Reine acknowledged her as Shido's daughter, though.

"Yeah?" The little girl responded to Reine's call.

"May I run a few checks on your body? I promise it won't hurt." Reine asked.

"Um, I think? Papa, may I?"

The little girl whispered to Shido's ears in front of her.

"A-ah, you may."

Clearly not ready to act as a father, Shido merely gave an awkward permission. Reine smiled a bit at that.

Shido knelt as to allow the girl's short legs to reach the floor comfortably.

"Uh, Reine-san, may I go with you?"

"I suppose it's fine. Captain?"

"I'll go, too."

* * *

The midnight had passed and the anime festival had ended half an hour ago.

Having nothing more to do, Rinne and Kurumi found themselves returning to the cemetery of Tenguu City once more.

Even though it was the darkest hour of the day, with the moon hidden by the clouds, the two Spirits didn't have a problem with walking around. Mostly because their glowing red eyes were more than enough to give them sight.

Kurumi was clad in her Astral Dress once more, stepping on top of a grave. Her clock eye was looking around, staring at the Web of Causality she wished she could read. Meanwhile, Rinne was concentrating on reading the Strings, deep in thought.

"Okay... so, you said something was born from Shido-san. What?"

"I can't quite explain it. The readings indicate it is a Spirit, but..."

Rinne hesitated to continue, confused by the events she was reading. Meanwhile, Kurumi raised a brow.

"Spirit? How does he produce a Spirit?"

"I'm not quite sure about the cause, but I think I can explain the process."

"Enlighten me, then."

Kurumi then put her hands on an akimbo, while Rinne turned from the dark hole where the Strings of Fate emerged to Kurumi's direction.

"Kurumi, you do remember that the powers of every Spirit Shido sealed are stored within him, right?"

"Of course. That's the reason why I want to eat him, after all."

Despite sounding ominous, and was complemented by Kurumi's devious smirk, Rinne merely chuckled at that.

_"You just wanted his power, all right."_

Rinne decided to continue. "You know, Spirit powers are extremely reactive to emotions. Do you remember how much trouble Shido gets into -multiple times- because of his harem's instability?"

"Now that you mention it, even Westcott discovered Tohka-san because of Yoshino-san was watching a stupid drama and Origami-san being so possessive of Shido-san." Kurumi put a finger on her chin.

Rinne laughed in response. She remembered, of course, just a few days before Shido met the Yamais. Although that led to Westcott and Ellen noticing Shido's existence, Rinne was thoroughly amused by how Fate played their hands that day. It was almost too ridiculous to believe.

Fortunately for Rinne, Kurumi seemed to already understand what she was about to explain.

"Oh, I see... you are saying, that if a single Spirit could cause rains and storms when they lose control over their powers, then Shido-san with 8 Spirits would be..."

"Devastating, of course."

Rinne smiled nervously, while Kurumi rolled her eyes, as if saying 'I should have thought of this before.'

However, the Nightmare Spirit then questioned again.

"But then a really massive disaster should happen. Why producing a Spirit, instead?"

"Most likely because Shido is a special case. He isn't a Spirit. Just a human that could contain Spirit powers within. Remember when he went berserk?"

Rinne was referring to the disaster that Shido caused, when his powers made his body overheat.

"Ah, yes, my clones saw it. His personality... changed, didn't it?"

"That's where my speculation came from. If he could produce an alternate personality when losing control of his powers... I would not be surprised if he could produce an entirely separate identity."

"But instead of taking over, this new identity surfaced as a Spirit, is that what you are saying?"

"Pretty much."

Kurumi began to twirl her body in one heel hearing that. It might look odd, but Rinne knew that it was a sign of her processing an information.

"It doesn't seem to contradict our understanding about Spirit powers and Shido-san so far. But what kind of emotional turmoil could possibly be the cause for this? We can't find out about it at this point."

Kurumi frowned as she complained, while gradually spinning in place faster. Hearing this, Rinne was surprised.

"Hah? Kurumi, did you forget? You can use [Yod] and I can use [Fate Connection] on him. It's just a matter of who will-"

" **No.** "

Kurumi sharply cut Rinne off as she stopped twirling in place, and stared at her directly in the eyes.

The atmosphere of the conversation suddenly changed. Rinne knew that Kurumi was serious now.

"Ku, Kurumi?"

"Are you stupid? Whatever happened to him, it drove Shido-san, of all people, to an edge. If it is so bad that it can cause him to lose control over his Spirit mana, what do you think will happen to us when we relive that moment in our head with our powers?"

Kurumi raised the tone of her voice, but Rinne merely tilted her head in confusion. Rinne honestly didn't understand what Kurumi was implying.

Impatient, Kurumi sighed, anger clear in her face.

"Rinne... you really don't understand? We might go **Inverse** from his emotional trauma! Do you really want to see our Demon Kings that badly!?"

The Nightmare Spirit yelled now, startling her.

Rinne instantly felt a chill ran down her spine the moment Kurumi mentioned the possibility of Inversion.

Now that Rinne thought about it, Kurumi was right- the power to see through someone's memories, carried the risk of bearing that person's despair. Both Zafkiel and Cassiel had that problem.

"I... I'm sorry..."

Feeling bad for angering her friend, Rinne apologized. However, that didn't mean she agreed with Kurumi's point.

"But Kurumi, no one knows what will happen, right? Do you think it's wise not to take a risk to find answers?"

The Ruler wanted to see what caused Shido to collapse into a coma. More than that, she **needed** to know. So she tried to argue realistically now.

Unfortunately for Rinne, her partner didn't seem to be amused by her argument.

If anything, Kurumi seemed to be angrier.

"You have seen three Demon Kings so far. And that's more than enough times to learn that any gains involving them is not worth anything!"

Kurumi's crimson eye glowed brightly, reflecting her irritation.

Rinne flinched seeing that, but she couldn't accept giving up that easily.

"But... we could manage it. Suppose one of us did go Inverse, the other can ask Shido for help. Isn't that why you and I have been helping him? To build enough trust so that we can ask for his help when necessary?"

"Idiot! That's a back-up plan! Why would you trust him with our sanity so easily!?"

"Because if it's him he can manage it!"

"You..."

Kurumi gritted her teeth. At this point Rinne knew she was really mad.

But she couldn't give up about this. There was no other way.

"Kurumi... this might lead us the answers I have been looking for three years. Please, let's take this risk."

Kurumi stared down at her for several moments, before finally turned around and took a deep breath. For a moment, Rinne was hopeful that she would accept.

What came next was not what Rinne expected.

"Huh... you know, the only reason why you don't fear Inverse Spirits now is because you haven't seen yourself in that form."

"...!"

Rinne's eyes grew wide.

_"No..."_

_"Not that... please don't bring that up..."_

That moment, all of Rinne's desire to argue was gone.

All that was left was pain.

"Did I instill that much fear into you... or you just don't want to see me like that again, Kurumi...?"

* * *

"What?"

"Reine, are you serious?"

Shido found himself raising his voice in disbelief. Likewise, Kotori couldn't help but voice her disbelief.

On the other side, Reine spoke in her usual tone.

"I'm serious. In a sense, this girl is Shin's daughter."

The three of them were inside a large room with a lot of Realizer equipments, while the little girl they were talking about was inside a wall made of glass.

It was very similar to the confinement Kotori was subjected to when her Spirit powers returned completely. She didn't appear to object though, as she was busy with a tablet Reine gave to her.

Kotori and Shido were beside themselves on a sofa while Reine was drinking a coffee on a sofa in front of them.

"So you are saying that because I can't control my powers, that girl is born?"

"To be precise, you lost control over your powers due to a disturbance in your mental state, and that produced her."

Reine corrected Shido's understanding.

Hearing this, he took a glance at the Spirit who was locked within the glass room.

Honestly, Shido didn't know how to respond to what he just heard.

He created the girl. With no intention to, but still, he did.

What should he do about that? How should he react to it?

He felt it was the first time he thought a responsibility was beyond him.

As Shido was deep in thought, he was not paying attention while Kotori and Reine continued to discuss.

"How much threat does this [Irregular] pose?"

"At least as dangerous as Shin when he went berserk. Likely even more so, since she is an actual Spirit, and are much more used to using Spirit powers than Shin."

"I thought as much... then, we can't afford to make a mistake here."

As Kotori clasped her hands under her chin, deep into thought, a thought crossed Shido's mind.

"Um...Reine-san?"

"Yes, Shin?"

"Can I... seal her powers like I do with other Spirits?"

"Theoretically, it is possible once her affection rises high enough. But..."

Reine paused, causing Shido to raise a brow.

"But?"

"That girl... will disappear."

Shido and Kotori gasped in surprise.

"Wh, what..?"

"Why?!"

Kotori was surprised, but Shido found himself raising his tone at the possibility he never even thought before.

"Calm down, Shin. She doesn't have a physical body like other Spirits, and everything about her existence all came from the Spirit mana provided by yourself. When you seal her powers, you are cutting her off of the source of energy needed for her to continue existing."

Shido's eyes grew wide as he understood what that meant.

"And... she will disappear?"

"In a sense. Her body will dissolve back to being Spirit energy, and her mind will disappear into the fabric of your consciousness."

Silence filled the atmosphere between them.

Before it went on any longer though, suddenly, they heard a pleasant sound.

"Eh?"

All three turned to the source of the sound. Inside the glass confinement.

Much to their surprise, the girl was playing on a piano.

It was a vertical-type piano, made from what seemed to be golden metal, similar to what formed the emblem on her red dress.

"What? Where did she get that? Did you create one with a Realizer?"

"No, I didn't provide her with a piano."

As Kotori and Reine were speaking however, Shido didn't say a word. Instead he stood, and found himself memerized by the music.

He then into the glass room. Inside, the music was much more audible.

The slow, relaxing notes gave Shido comfort.

As Shido slowly walked to the seat where the little girl was playing, the girl spoke.

"Have you calmed down, Papa?"

"Eh?"

Not expecting the girl to realize that he was there, Shido found himself unable to respond.

While still playing, the girl continued to talk.

"I feel something unpleasant in Papa's heart... but Sleepy Miss told me not to leave this room."

The little girl then let out a huff, pausing for a moment.

"When thinking on how to comfort Papa, I was playing with the tablet. There, I found a really kind thing who was playing music to soothe a little girl."

The piano player then giggled lightly.

"I thought, 'that works!' so I created one of my own, and played one of his music!"

Shido was surprised by her explanation. He thought he recognized the music, he was right.

The girl then stopped playing, hopped off of her chair, and turned to Shido.

"And it really works! Papa, I feel warmth in your heart!"

The little girl smiled brightly. A very warm, sincere smile. Not unlike the one he saw yesterday.

Facing that, Shido couldn't agree more to her words if he could.

Shido smiled, and knelt in front of her.

"Papa?"

Shido patted her head. His hand gently rubbing on her plum hairs.

"Thank you. I need that."

"Eh, hee hee hee..."

As Shido was done patting her and stood back up however, she tugged on Shido's trouser.

"Hmm?"

"Papa, I want a reward!"

"Eh? Reward?"

"Yeah!"

"Fine, I guess. What kind of reward you want?"

"Give me a name!"

"Eh? You don't have one?"

Shido was kind of surprised at how cheerful she was at asking her name.

But it made sense. She couldn't have a name, could she? She was born from him after all.

"I don't! Papa hasn't given me one, and I haven't seen Mama around so I can't ask her. Please?"

As she began asking with a pleading tone, Shido scratched the back of his head.

_"A name? What kind of name should I give her?"_

He remembered the last time he made a name, he was inspired by the date. He couldn't use that again, so he looked around to find an idea.

Behind him, outside the glass wall, Shido found that Kotori was holding another tablet, displaying choices for names. Of course, the familiar 'Tome' was written on them.

_"That again!? You can't be serious!"_

He had to think up a name. And fast.

_"Wait... is it fine if I combined some syllables from my name with Rinne's?"_

Rinne and Shido. The syllables were...ri, n, ne, shi, do, and o.

Shinne? Shiri? Rishi? Rido? Nope, no good.

_"Oh, how about..."_

"Rio?"

As Shido said that, the little girl looked surprised.

"Huh? Rio?"

The girl put a finger under her chin. For a moment, she appeared to be considering it.

She then smiled.

"Rio! Rio likes it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave your thoughts in the comments! If it's weird in anyway, just tell me and I'm editing it!
> 
> Thank you for following "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	8. Prelude to the Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Shall we continue to Chapter 8, "Prelude to the Date"?

The moon that was hidden behind the clouds finally revealed itself in its crescent form, painting the night sky.

Normally, Kurumi and Rinne would love this scenery. A cemetery bathed in the moonlight night, decorated with lonely tombstones, and a wide grin on the sky.

Not in their current mood, though.

"Did I instill that much fear into you... or you just don't want to see me like that again, Kurumi...?"

There was not much things that could make Kurumi pause.

The anguished voice of her partner was one of them.

" _...I really said it, didn't I?"_

As partners, Kurumi and Rinne knew about each other very well. Perhaps, they knew each other better than they did anyone else.

So, Kurumi knew that mentioning Rinne's Inversion was going to hurt her. That's why Kurumi turned her back on her.

But as much as she hated to see her partner upset, Kurumi didn't feel wrong at all.

_"Rinne needed to be taught... what 'self-preservation' meant."_

With that in mind, the Nightmare turned around once more, staring her partner down.

"You never learn, do you?"

"W-what?"

Kurumi didn't answer Rinne's question and asked her back.

For her part, Rinne didn't seem to understand what Kurumi meant. Seeing this, the Nightmare Spirit decided to be blunt.

"You think that I fear Inverse Spirits because of you. You are right about that."

Rinne flinched, almost as if she was physically struck by Kurumi's words.

Kurumi bit her lip. She didn't want to say that to her friend, even if they both were aware of that fact.

However, she had to say it all.

"But despite what you might think, I don't hate you for that, Rinne. If anything, that day convinced me... that I **refuse** to see you suffer in despair. Not when I can help it."

"..."

Kurumi was neither trying to sound sincere or exaggerate. It was genuine, and she was serious. Kurumi treasured Rinne, and she didn't want to lose her friend to despair ever again.

The Nightmare knew that the Ruler was probably not expecting the heartfelt statement. That much was clear at her stunned expression.

Seeing this, Kurumi was not about to give her partner any chance to process her words or argue back. Slowly, she approached Rinne step by step.

"And you know what? I'm not the only one who don't want to see you risking yourself. There's that man you love..."

"W, what about him?"

Rinne became flustered, at the way Kurumi mentioned Shido. Seeing this however, Kurumi only narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"Rinne... you know what I'm talking about. Don't try to dodge it."

The Ruler averted her eyes from the Nightmare's accusing stare.

Kurumi already knew that Rinne understood what she meant. After all, the reason why the Ruler was so adamant on going through despite the risk was related to it.

Rinne's objective when she arrived in Tenguu City was to read Shido's past beyond five years ago, to find out any possible connections between herself and Shido.

She had to wait until after Honjou Nia was sealed by Shido to get this done, to prevent everyone, be it Nia or the Ratatoskr, from investigating about herself or Kurumi.

This was why Kurumi didn't give any indication to Nia that she knew Shido before, so that Nia wouldn't think of informing Shido and the Ratatoskr about her meeting with Kurumi until after Nia herself was sealed.

At that point Nia's powers would be Shido's to use, and it was highly unlikely that Shido would pry into Kurumi's (or really, anyone's) past. This way, Rinne could enter the picture without worrying anybody investigating about her.

As Nia unexpectedly lost her powers, all Rinne had to do were to read Shido's past now. But Rinne never intended to do it without his consent, which was why she set up the date in the first place, in order to get Shido to trust her.

But now an unexpected problem presented itself, which was Shido's mental trauma.

That would endanger Rinne or Kurumi if they tried to read his memory, and avoiding to do so would defeat the purpose of the date itself, and really, Rinne's entire visit in the first place.

Rinne surely knew what that meant. Her plan was basically ruined.

Kurumi noticed that Rinne clenched her fists, clearly frustrated.

"No, not yet... It's not over yet! I can still-"

"Face it, partner. Shido-san won't agree to you if he knew the risk, and I don't think you are immoral enough to just ignore his, as well as my disapproval."

Kurumi calmly, and coldly cut her off with a simple statement.

She knew that she was being ironic. Kurumi, a murderer, was stopping and reprimanding Rinne for being immoral.

If Kurumi wasn't her friend, Rinne would certainly take offense to that.

Hearing this however, the Ruler's eyes looked like life itself was drained out of it.

"Then what should I do? I don't want to give up on this, Kurumi... I don't..."

Kurumi curved her lips into her signature smirk.

_"Don't worry, Rinne."_

The Nightmare had already got that covered.

"I never said you should give up. I only said you shouldn't risk yourself."

Rinne raised an eyebrow at that.

"What are you trying to imply? You sound like you have another plan."

"That's because I do."

Hearing the confident statement from her, Rinne's expression brightened a bit, but only a little. Kurumi frowned slightly at that.

Considering the current situation though, Kurumi couldn't blame her for being skeptical.

"I will elaborate, for the sake of your clarity."

The Nightmare Spirit smirked and opened her hand, as an olden-style, flintlock pistol flung itself out of her shadow into her hand.

Seeing this, her partner let out a sigh.

"Really? You are using [Yod] just to explain a plan to me? Is it that complicated?"

"It's much faster than explaining, you know."

"When did you prepare for this?"

"It doesn't need preparation. I just came up with it some minutes ago, when we were talking."

"Eh? Are you sure that it's going to work?"

Worry suddenly colored the Ruler's expression. Kurumi flashed her a grin.

"Why don't you see it for yourself?"

Kurumi turned around and shot the bullet through her own chest, which passed harmlessly and ended on Rinne's body, transferring her recent memories just like before.

"Wha...?"

As Rinne gasped in surprise, Kurumi turned again at her partner, waiting for her reaction.

Rinne looked positively shocked. She froze in place, eyes-wide, unresponsive.

Taking that as a sign that the plan was accepted, Kurumi chuckled.

"It's perfect, ain't it?"

Kurumi grinned proudly. It was the best plan in her recent years, and she came up with this literally minutes ago in her head.

_"I bet this will succeed-"_

However, her thoughts were suddenly cut off, as without giving her any warning, Rinne pulled Kurumi into a hug.

Caught off-guard, Kurumi only managed to gasp as Rinne's hands linked behind her back, her head beside Rinne's.

"Wait, what are you doing!?"

"It's magnificent, Kurumi!"

As Rinne happily squealed while pulling her closer, Kurumi frantically struggled to break free, grabbing Rinne's waist to try and push the Ruler away.

Unfortunately for Kurumi, it seemed that Rinne was stronger than her, both physically and Spiritually.

Worse, Rinne seemed to notice that Kurumi grabbed her by the waist, and she took that as a sign of acceptance and hugged tighter.

"I always thought that you are smart, but not **this** much!"

Kurumi's body was practically squeezed now.

_"Calm down- I need to get her to free me!"_

She forced herself to speak.

"Err, thanks for that, but why doing this!?"

"Thank you so much! For a moment there I thought I was hopeless! I don't know what would I do if you weren't here!"

"I suppose I'll appreciate that, but I would appreciate it more if you let me go!"

Finally realizing that she was not enjoying the embrace, Rinne let out an 'oh' and let Kurumi go.

As soon as she was free, Kurumi immediately took a few steps back, wary of another 'attack'

"Next time, you should warn me... your grip strength is ridiculous..."

Kurumi checked her body whether she broke anything. Hopefully not, she didn't want to use [Dalet] (Fourth Bullet) on something like this.

On Rinne's end, she took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"I'm sorry. But I mean it, Kurumi."

"You mean you are seriously trying to kill me? Oh, I appreciate that."

The sarcasm made Rinne pause to laugh a bit, causing Kurumi to roll her eyes.

"No, I mean thank you for this solution you gave me. This is..."

Kurumi's eyes grew wide as soon as she heard a sniffle from Rinne.

Her partner's eyes were already wet with fresh tears.

"...No, you already know how much this means for me."

Rinne smiled widely at her, prompting Kurumi to sigh.

At the sight of tears, Kurumi whispered 'crybaby', before returning the smile.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

Somewhere within Ratatoskr's secret base, a certain blue-haired boy was squirming restlessly on his bed, at the corner of his room.

Even though he was clad in his pajamas, it was a tough night... er, technically morning since it was already one hour past midnight, for Shido to sleep.

Probably because he spent most of the night unconscious, his body probably had gotten the rest it needed. That should be a good thing, since it left him with more free time. But now he didn't have anything to fill in it.

Shido would like to spend more time with Rio, but Reine had to perform more checks on her because of her materializing a piano, something that was neither her Astral Dress or Angel, an ability previous Spirits never displayed. Shido couldn't disturb them.

The others were probably sleeping at their apartment, so the Itsuka household would be empty at this hour, and he still had much time left before he had to return to prepare breakfast.

However, the biggest obstacle between him and sleeping now was his own mind. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened yesterday.

Meeting Rinne. Stalking her and Kurumi. Losing consciousness due to an image of Rinne killing him. Greeted by a girl that was, for all intents and purposes, his own daughter. Shido couldn't stop thinking about it, at all.

"What should I do...?"

However, suddenly, he heard a voice.

"Shido?"

A voice from outside the door called.

Shido jumped at the call. He knew who was talking.

"Kotori?"

"Oh, you are still awake?"

As the redheaded girl entered the room, black ribbons on, and still clad in her uniform from earlier, Shido sat up from his position in bed.

"Yeah, I can't sleep."

Kotori then grabbed a chair, dragged it next to Shido's bed, before sitting on it.

Understanding that she wanted to talk, Shido continued.

"What about you? Are you done with the date plan?"

"I am done. All that's left is the execution."

"I see..."

Shido stopped for a moment, before deciding to change the subject.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

Kotori twitched. Seemed that he caught her off-guard.

"So you can be perceptive sometimes, huh?"

"Well, I AM your brother."

The little sister chuckled, before continuing.

"I guess I'll start with this: Shido, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, I guess."

"Are you sure? You passed out because of a serious mental trauma, you know."

"At the very least I don't feel unhealthy, so I'll stick to my statement."

Kotori took a hard look at Shido's face, as if she was studying his expression.

Shido became uncomfortable, and averted his gaze.

"No. You are most assuredly not fine. At the very least you are worried about something right now."

Shido smiled. He couldn't lie to Kotori, alright.

He decided to be honest.

"No, really. I'm not feeling down, just... confused."

"Finally you are being honest... you should have just said it, you idiot."

"Sorry."

"Humph."

As Kotori crossed her arms while huffing, Shido bowed his head to show that he was indeed sorry.

"But well... no one can blame you for being confused right now."

"I suppose..." Shido stared to his bed.

The two of them stopped for a moment, before the redhead broke the silence.

"Shido?"

"Yes?"

Kotori took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for yesterday."

"Eh?"

Shido uttered dumbfoundedly, prompting her to sigh.

"Yesterday evening I did many things I shouldn't have, didn't I? I yelled at you, I pinned you, and I... said something without thinking. So, I apologize, Shido."

Shido turned his gaze at Kotori, who blushed out of embarrassment and looked away.

Of course, Shido knew what Kotori meant. The argument they had yesterday.

Honestly, most of it didn't bother Shido at all. He made Kotori worried, so taking the brunt of her wrath was the least he could do to make amends.

But one question disturbed Shido to no end.

" _Are you in love with her?"_ with 'her' referring to Sonogami Rinne.

The unexpected question had caught him off-guard that time, but honestly, even now, Shido wasn't sure what to answer that.

"Ah, don't think too much about it. You were worried about me, and I would probably do the same to you if our position were swapped." Shido replied quickly.

Kotori raised an eyebrow, noticing something.

"You don't mind about it?"

"Yeah."

"Even though what I did could be considered abuse?"

"Abuse is your regular treatment of me, Kotori."

Shido tried to joke, trying to lighten the mood. Kotori however ignored it, and glared more closely at him.

"Even about the part where I accused you of being in love?"

It was Shido's turn to twitch.

" _...I am as good as a book in front of her, am I?"_

Shido sighed, before he returned Kotori's gaze.

"You are unbelievably sharp, Kotori."

"I AM your sister, after all. So you are troubled about it, aren't you?"

"...Yes."

As Shido admitted that, Kotori crossed her arms once more, this time deep in thought.

Shido noticed that the girl looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't know how to. Shido could tell through her eyes.

At that, Shido only waited. Kotori should continue at her own pace.

Which she did, a few moments later.

"Shido, yesterday you said that when you were with Ruler, you felt something, didn't you?"

"Err, yeah, 'something'."

As Kotori questioned, Shido emphasized his last word, as he clearly didn't understand about it.

Regardless, Kotori pressed.

"What do you think it is?"

"I don't really know..."

Kotori stared into Shido's eyes, trying to search for any answers.

However, Shido was fully honest this time. Seeing that, Kotori continued.

"The Ruler you met in that school yesterday evening, she wasn't in her Astral Dress, was she?"

"Um, yeah. She wasn't."

"I see. Then, when you were stalking her last night, before you passed out, what do you feel?"

Shido suddenly felt chill ran down his spine. The image of Ruler killing him returned.

He was certainly terrified. Rinne didn't even feel like the same person in her Astral Dress.

"I... I feel afraid, I guess."

"As I thought..."

Kotori's response took Shido's attention.

"Eh? As you thought? How do you know?"

"You know, you are not the only one who felt it."

"I'm not the only one? What do you mean?"

"Well, you are not the only one who felt dread seeing the Ruler. Origami reported that she felt it, too."

"Origami?"

"Maybe others also felt it, but they didn't say. And to be honest, me too. I can't even stand seeing Ruler's photo for a minute."

As Kotori confessed about that, Shido was surprised. He didn't think Rinne could cause such an effect on anyone else.

"You can't? Is it that bad?"

Kotori frowned at his question.

"Says the person who passed out the moment she revealed her face."

"Uhh..."

Shido was utterly silenced by Kotori's sharp reply.

_"Well... you are right... but you don't need to say it like that, right?"_

* * *

As Kotori replied at Shido's ironic statement, she sighed.

Shido clearly didn't notice that she was very worried.

_"He hasn't realized it... has he?"_

It seemed that Kotori had to be blunt with him.

"Shido, are you sure you will go to the date today?"

"Huh?"

As Kotori finally asked the question, Shido merely raised an eyebrow.

"Why asking? Haven't we decided on this yesterday?"

"I decided to accept yesterday because I didn't know how dangerous this Spirit actually is. But now-"

Shido suddenly raised his hand, cutting Kotori off.

"You think, she is too dangerous, is that what you are saying?"

He followed it up with a question, his tone and expression serious.

Taken aback by his brother's change in tone, Kotori only managed to utter a single word.

"...Yes."

"Kotori... I think I said I'm not going to pass on any chance to save a Spirit."

Kotori knew her brother would say that. That was exactly the thing she dreaded.

"But she is very dangerous! Don't you understand?"

Shido's determination didn't waver on his eyes. Seeing this, Kotori clenched her fists to hold back her feelings.

"She can somehow affect your psyche, even though you are protected by the powers of 8 Spirits! Not even Nia when she went Inverse could do that! What if she..."

Kotori stopped herself, her eyes wide. She realized what she almost said.

...Was actually brainwashing you into this.

That was what Kotori almost said. She wanted to say it, but she was afraid. What if Shido wasn't?

Shido seemed to understand, and fortunately for her, he ignored it.

"I guess... but that only matters if she intended to harm me."

"She **did** try! Have you forgotten last night already?"

As Kotori brought back that topic, her brother paused, clearly recalling something.

However, that didn't stop him for long.

"That's not necessarily her doing, and even if it was, I still don't think she intended to."

"How could she unintentionally strike fear in our hearts, and knocked you out cold!?"

"I don't know, but I still think that's the case. Just like what I said about Kurumi... if Sonogami Rinne wanted to harm me in any way, she would have done it when I was alone with her at that school."

"That's..."

Kotori hesitated. That point indeed made sense, it was a wasted opportunity for them if they truly intended to harm him.

Her hesitation gave Shido a chance to continue.

"Besides, I made a promise with her. I **will** meet her today, after school, for a date."

"You-"

"And you made a promise to help me. I will not let you go back on your word."

Shido's eyes were locked firmly on hers.

It's like it was saying, 'go ahead, try and change my mind.'

Seeing that, Kotori faltered.

"...Has 'self-preservation' ever crossed your mind?"

"It has crossed my mind, many times. It's just that 'saving others' is roughly on the same level of priority in my mind, Kotori."

"You lied. 'Others' are clearly on the higher priority."

"I did say, 'roughly'."

"Normal people usually prioritize themselves over others."

"I don't think anyone who can seal powers with a kiss can be called normal."

Kotori let out a long, defeated sigh at that argument. It was one of the most ridiculous sentences she ever heard.

What was worse that, Shido was right.

When she couldn't even come up with a comeback, Kotori knew she couldn't change her brother's mind.

But she was also relieved.

A brainwashed Shido could never talk back like that.

_"I believe in you, Oni-chan. I have faith in you."_

* * *

"...Then our conversation is over. Have it your way, Oni-chan."

"Thank you, Kotori."

Kotori put on a wry smile stood up from the chair, ready to leave. Shido smiled in return.

_"Thank you, Kotori. I'll make sure I won't betray your trust in me."_

All of a sudden however, the room's door was opened and a plum-haired girl entered where they were, startling the siblings.

"Papa?"

"Rio?"

Shido was surprised. How did Rio get here? Had Reine-san finished yet?

"What are you doing here? Reine-san is done with you?"

"Yes! Now Papa and Rio can be together!"

As Rio bounced up and down in cheer, the Itsuka siblings turned to each other.

"Well, I'll see you later. Shido."

"Yeah. See you later."

Shido watched as Kotori left the room and closed the door, not noticing that Rio crawled to his bed.

When Shido turned his attention back to the room, Rio was right beside him, her face inches away from Shido's.

"Eh!? Rio?!"

"Papa, let's do something fun!"

"Err, I guess. But you don't want to sleep, Rio?"

"Papa doesn't sleep, so Rio won't!"

"I see..."

Shido thought back on his priorities. Absolutely nothing to do right now.

" _Well, I have four hours before I have to return back home for breakfast."_

Shido smiled, and patted 'his daughter' on the head.

"Then let's play, Rio."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, that's it! Leave your thoughts in the comments!
> 
> Thank you for following "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	9. The Date at Last: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Time for Chapter 9, "The Date at Last, Part I"

It was almost dawn. The sun had just begun to rise, embracing the world with its warmth.

It was just what Rinne needed, after a long, cold night.

In the graveyard Rinne had come to like, the Ruler Spirit, in her usual transparent blouse, was staring against the brightening horizon, sitting under a large tree.

Rinne had always loved sunrise. It marked the beginning of a new day, a new cycle. Another day for her to plow through.

It also helped her ease her nerves.

"Are you really that nervous, partner?"

The sound came from her trusted timekeeper.

Kurumi -clad in her black Lolita dress- sat right behind her, their bodies leaning against each other, Rinne's back against Kurumi's.

Rinne liked the feeling it gave. It was comforting, to feel someone leaning on her like that. It reminded her of one thing.

" _That I'm not alone."_

"Yes, I am nervous. This will be my first date..." Rinne whispered.

"Really." Kurumi chuckled. "You are modest."

"I can't help it. I didn't get a chance to date anyone as a human, and I certainly don't have any after I received [Cassiel]..."

"And neither did I. Don't worry, Shido-san can handle it."

"I know he can handle it." Rinne sighed. "What I'm not sure is whether or not **I** can handle it."

"Fufufu... you worry too much." Kurumi snickered. "It's just a date. What's the worst that can happen?"

"AST, DEM, or even another Spirit... so many things could go wrong." Rinne listed.

"There's no need to bother yourself with such trivial matters. This is your date, relax. I will personally ensure that you get to enjoy it." Kurumi smirked.

Rinne widened her eyes a bit, understanding what Kurumi meant.

"...Thanks."

"You've been saying that a lot recently."

Rinne chuckled. Yes, Kurumi was right. Since last night, since yesterday.

Since she met Shido, face-to-face.

"Maybe Shido is infecting my head."

The Nightmare Spirit giggled creepily at that. Suddenly, Rinne felt uncomfortable.

Stifling her laughter, Kurumi spoke.

"Well, if you are really grateful, I want you to do something for me during your date."

"Hmm?" Rinne raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Oh," Kurumi's tone became sarcastic, "you will like it."

"...Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"It's because you have a sharp instinct."

* * *

"Papa? Where are you?"

Shido could barely manage to hold his laughter as he heard Rio's sing-song voice from the distance.

Being unable to sleep, Shido spent the rest of his early morning hours playing with his supposed daughter. They had been playing all kinds of games, from the simple tic-tac-toe to the game arcades that Ratatoskr provided.

Now, they were playing hide-and-seek.

"Rio is looking for Papa, Rio is looking for Papa~"

Although Shido couldn't see it, hiding behind a sofa, he could picture Rio running around looking for him, which she would no doubt, in a few more moments.

Shido was enjoying this. The game turned out to be much more fun than he thought at first. From Rio's helplessness at doing simple things, her child-like innocence and curiosity.

Shido loved every part of it. He loved every part of her.

"Papa! There you are!"

"Oh, you found me!"

"Yay!"

The little girl jumped at him, hanging on Shido's shoulders as her face was muffled to his chest.

"Rio found Papa!" Rio said, gazing up to smile at Shido.

"Good girl." Shido returned the curve.

Shido then gently put her back on her feet, and crouched to level his eyes on hers.

"Now then, what should we play next?"

To his surprise, Rio shook her head.

"Papa, it's almost time for breakfast."

" _Oh, right..."_

Shido took out his phone and glanced at the clock. Indeed, it was 5.30 A.M, about time for him to return.

It suddenly bugged him, though. _"How did Rio know that it's time for me to return?"_

Did they pass by a clock?

Shido decided to ignore it, as he had a more pressing issue to talk about.

"Rio?"

"Yes, Papa?"

"I'm about to return home and go for school... would you, you know, return inside me for a while? I don't want the others to see you, just yet."

"Okay! If that's what Papa wanted. But, Papa?"

"Yes?"

"May Rio... talk to Mama?"

Shido froze. It literally didn't cross his mind, the idea of Rio meeting Rinne.

" _Oh right... what would she feel about this?"_

Shido could only imagine how awkward it would be.

To have someone who called herself your child, all while you were dating someone you hadn't even married to.

" _No! That's just... weird."_

He was about to say 'no' but-

"Please?"

Rio came closer to him, her voice pleading, her eyes staring with hope.

...That was just unfair.

" _Could anyone with a heart even refuse, seeing that?"_

"Okay... you may."

"Yay!"

Rio bounced in place happily, completely ignoring his internal thoughts.

" _Well, it's not like Rinne would mind... I hope."_

* * *

" _Hmm, hmm! So this is Papa's house!"_

Rio's voice continued to echo in his head as Shido finally arrived to the empty Itsuka household.

Which Shido enjoyed, actually.

" _Welcome home, Rio!"_ He tried to think cheerfully - was that even a thing, though?

He felt a mental equivalent to a squeal. " _Yes! Rio's home!"_

Shido glanced at the clock. 6.00 A.M. Time to prepare for breakfast.

As he stood before the kitchen, Shido began to consider his options.

" _Hmm... what would they want?"_

" _Maybe they would want Udon?"_

" _Early in the morning? Maybe not..."_

" _Um... Onigiri?"_

After Shido and Rio silently discussed for a few minutes, they finally decided to settle for Soba noodles.

As Shido wore the apron and began to take out the ingredients, he cracked his knuckles.

He shouted as loud as he could in his mind. " _Let's do this!"_

" _Yeah!"_

For some reason, Shido could feel Rio raising imaginary fists at that spirited answer.

* * *

"Phew..."

As he finished preparing the dish for everyone, Shido was resting on one of the numerous chairs on the dining table.

" _Are you tired, Papa?"_

" _Ha ha, of course no. I've been through worse."_

Recalling the training he was subjected to by Kotori, Shido laughed at the back of his mind.

Of course, Rio too could now see it.

" _Um... Papa, did you go through all of this?"_

" _I'd rather not think about it..."_

Before he could continue, however, a pair of hands closed his eyes from behind.

"Wha...?"

He couldn't see anything, but Shido was able to tell who was holding him from behind.

The skin was soft, and her touch was warm. Shido knew a lot of girls like that, but only four who would have the nerve to do this.

One was hospitalized. Another didn't know that he was here. That left only two.

One of the two was loud and couldn't sneak up on him. That left only one.

"O-Origami!? Where did you pop out from?"

"What do you mean? I came through the front door."

Origami sounded as calm as ever, but he didn't believe her for a second.

"That's clearly a lie!"

"As expected from Shido. He is sharp."

"Why do you suddenly sound so proud!?"

The girl didn't reply and removed her hands from his eyes, and instead gently held Shido's cheeks.

Shido could feel heat building up within his body, but he decided not to give in and continued.

"So, uh... Origami, why don't you sit down and have your breakfast?" Shido gestured to the noodles.

To his surprise, Origami didn't respond. She stayed in place, behind Shido's chair. Out of his sight.

Noticing something was wrong, Shido spoke.

"What's wrong, Origami?"

She didn't reply. Instead, Origami asked back.

"Will you be okay?"

Origami's hoarse voice startled Shido.

"Eh?!"

Instinctively, Shido wanted to stand up and turn around to see her, but that moment, he realized the hands holding his cheeks were trembling.

"Answer me, Shido... will you be okay?"

He could feel his heart being wrenched at her pleading tone.

"Wait, what do you…" Shido paused.

Shido couldn't answer that, just yet. He needed to know **why** and **how** Origami became like that.

"Eh…?"

Origami uttered with a surprised tone, as Shido held her hands in turn.

"Origami. Let me go." Shido asked, his tone firm.

The girl became silent for a moment, hesitating. However, in a few moments, she reluctantly obliged.

Shido mentally prepared himself as he turned at Origami.

It was almost like a doll crying in sorrow.

The clear blue eyes Origami usually had was dark and tired. Her smooth, nearly reflective white hair was now messed up, and even her pajamas looked like it was crumpled.

Shido couldn't hide his surprise. "Answer me first, Origami. What happened?"

"I couldn't sleep, last night..." Origami rubbed her eyes.

"Why?"

"I was worried about you..."

Suddenly guilt filled his heart. Shido presumed that all the girls were asleep when he woke up near mid-night, hence why he decided not to visit them until now.

He forgot that they must be very worried about him.

Shido stared at Origami's tired eyes. Was she the only one that didn't sleep at all? What about the others? They were not soldiers, they might be even worse than Origami right now.

" _Papa?"_ Rio said, concerned. _"I sense discomfort..."_

For once, Shido ignored Rio.

_"What I was doing? While they were worried about me..."_

Without giving her any warning, Shido pulled Origami to an embrace, gently holding her head against his chest.

"Shido...?" Origami whispered.

"I'm sorry, Origami. But I'm here now, I'm fine. Don't worry."

It was Shido's turn to gently stroke her hair. Although tense at first, eventually Origami relaxed and embraced him back.

"Thank you, Shido..."

He held Origami close to him like that until he could hear Origami's grumbling stomach.

* * *

After almost ten minutes, the blue-haired boy and the white-haired girl had finished their breakfast.

"This is good, Shido."

"Thank Kotori for that."

Origami smiled as Shido chuckled lightly, as both of them were eating in a slow, relaxed pace, savouring the now-cold noodles.

She was delighted. Even if it was not warm anymore, the taste more than made up for it.

After they were done, however, Shido suddenly faced her with another one of his serious expression.

"Origami, what about the others?"

Origami didn't need to be told what he meant. Of course, Shido was worried about the other girls.

"Yatogami Tohka, Yoshino and Natsumi slept as soon as we returned. Yamai seemed to fall asleep this morning while playing their video game. I don't know about Miku."

It honestly didn't sound good, and it wouldn't make Shido feel better at the least. However, Origami had absolutely no reason to lie to Shido.

As expected, Shido smiled bitterly.

"I hope they slept well..."

Origami didn't bother to comment on that.

"I will apologize to each of them later... as many times as it takes."

Shido sighed.

"Origami... I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught the meaning of your question just now."

The white-haired girl raised a brow this time. What did he mean?

Seeing her confused, Shido pressed his question.

"Ah. What do you mean, 'will you be okay'? I'm here, right before you. I'm okay."

Origami suppressed her discomfort.

She had wanted to talk about this when the other Spirits and perhaps Itsuka Kotori was around.

But, it seemed no time was better than now.

"Shido, I was talking about your date with Ruler after school."

At her statement, Shido sighed tiredly.

"Origami... not you, too. Kotori had already talked about this to me."

Origami frowned slightly.

"I'm not telling you to back out of it, Shido. Unlike your sister, I trust you more than I'm worried about you."

He narrowed his eyes. "But you aren't sure whether or not I'm going to be okay after this."

Origami flinched. "I... yes, I doubt it."

Shido sighed. "My decision doesn't change."

That statement somehow made her feel even more anxious.

"All of us are worried about your decision this time, Shido. After what we've seen last night. After what I've... experienced."

Origami had never truly felt fear until that moment, when she saw Sonogami Rinne's face.

She used to hate Spirits, and she was terrified of them... but not like that.

Spirits could be fought. As powerful as they were, they were comprehensible. Thus, they could be defeated.

Ruler wasn't anything she could 'comprehend'.

" _Eh?"_

Origami felt something squeezed her hand.

She looked down on the table. Shido was holding her hand.

"...Origami."

The sheer emotion in Shido's voice made Origami's mind halt.

"...Yes, Shido?"

Dumbfoundedly, Origami could only say that.

"I'm going to be okay."

Shido held her hand tighter. His brown eyes had whitened pupils, and was focused on her.

He was serious.

Origami loved that part of him. He could comfort her out of her worries, he could promise and not break it.

But Origami couldn't quite trust that, now.

"We will be there, Shido. We will watch over you."

Shido looked like he wanted to argue, but he decided against it.

Instead, he spoke in a gentle tone.

"If that will make you forgive me... I'm fine with it."

It was Origami's turn to hold Shido's hand with her other hand.

"Is that a promise, Shido?"

"It is a promise, Origami."

Origami looked onto his eyes for a moment, before she smiled warmly and let go of his hand.

As Shido returned the favor and let go of her hand, she continued.

"I think you should go to school." Origami noted.

"Eh?" Shido raised an eyebrow. "Why not wait for the others?"

Origami giggled lightly. "Shido... if you take your time to comfort the others like you did with me, all of us will be late for school."

Shido blushed at that. "O-oh... yeah."

"Go. If you are not here, we will not be late." Origami stated.

"You speak like I'm not wanted here." Shido chuckled.

"On the contrary," Origami smiled, "you are the best thing we ever have in our lives."

Origami could see Shido trying to hide his blushing cheeks as he walked up the stairs.

* * *

" _I'm sorry, Rio... I didn't mean to ignore you like that."_

Shido mentally apologized as he was cleaning himself in the bathroom.

Rio was almost showering Shido with questions of concern while he was talking with Origami, only silencing herself up after he embraced Origami.

Although it should be considered common courtesy for someone to not disturb them during such moments, Rio was still a child and therefore it was wrong for Shido to just ignore her.

Even if Origami's matter was concerning, he could have at least asked her to stay silent.

" _It's fine, Papa. Rio understands!"_

There was not the slightest sign of Rio being annoyed in her mental voice.

Shido smiled.

" _That's my girl."_

_"Hum... Papa?"_

" _Yes?"_

There was a pause, as if Rio was thinking for a moment.

" _Will you do that for... Mama, too?"_

Once again, Shido froze at Rio's question.

He knew what she meant. What he did with Origami.

It seemed Rio would often surprise him with ideas he never thought before.

" _I'm afraid I can't promise anything like that, Rio."_

" _Hmm... that's too bad."_

Rio continued to make small talks and comments as Shido finished his bath.

* * *

It was a snowy morning. The gloomy clouds of winter had filled the sky, and the sun's light was just enough for people to recognize that it was day.

Kurumi had left to watch over the city for her date. Now she was taking her time before the long awaited date with Shido.

As Rinne stood on Raizen High's rooftop, clad in her casual clothes, softly singing a song and gently strumming the strings of her lyre -part of Cassiel, her Angel- to pass the time.

**While the moon and the stars are shining over me,**

**On a carpet where sparks of fire flutter, you, standing before my eyes,**

**Illuminated in a red hue, glared your radiant and resolute pupils.**

Rinne didn't follow Japanese cultures all that much, but she was a fan of Japanese songs.

And unlike Kurumi, she was capable of singing them.

**The sounds of our footsteps resound into the far distance.**

**I give you my words that I'll entrust you with my all.**

**We flap our wings and fly towards the future.**

This song was one of her most favorite.

Because, while it depicted the story of two anime-specific characters, one could interpret the lyrics in multiple ways, multiple different stories.

**After freeing each other from the ensnaring illusions of in-fighting,**

**If we're going on a journey, I will never let go of this hand again.**

For someone like her...

**Even now do you still remember vividly the moment**

**when we first met and looked into each other's eyes?**

**Even if we should be swallowed up by swirls of slumber,**

**our dream-the proof of our bond-will never disappear.**

...for a life like hers...

**As you rested your chin in your hands and smiled,**

**I felt an urge to protect you.**

**It took me a long time, but I eventually realized**

**that you were the reason of my existence.**

...the lyrics were not exaggerating.

It was truth in the form of words.

**We fly into the sky where lustrous snow precipitates,**

**cuddling together like the waning moon and the stars.**

**Our story, sketched by the two of us,**

**will continue forever from this point on.**

As she reached the end of the first chorus, Rinne decided to stop.

Something was there. Someone was listening.

"What do you want...?"

Rinne whispered.

" **Hmm...** "

The responding voice wasn't a physical sound.

It reached her ears directly without vibrating, not unlike the fate-altering music [Dance with Destiny] her Cassiel produced.

It came from [Phantom], who stood right behind her. Rinne didn't need her eyes to know she was there.

" **So you finally decided to come for him... why does it take you so long?** "

Rinne sighed at that question. It was rhetorical and pointless.

"I don't need to explain it, do I? You are supposed to be the 'mother' of us, Spirits... you know me."

" **Ha ha ha.** "

The Phantom let out a distorted laugh.

" **True enough. I do understand why.** "

"..."

The Ruler honestly didn't know how to deal with Phantom. On one hand, she was too mysterious, too secretive to be related with. Even Kurumi told her that she didn't need to be polite whenever she was around.

On the other hand, she was the one who gave her and Kurumi their Angels. Rinne was grateful for that, and it was simply against her nature for Rinne to selectively hate someone.

" **Well then, I wish you good luck.** "

The Phantom was just about to leave before Rinne decided to speak.

"Why do you sympathize with me?" Rinne broke her silence. "You always seem to mock Kurumi for what she wanted. Why do you wish me a good luck?"

Rinne turned around, and gazed at the figure covered in mosaics. It seemed to be affected by her words.

" **A naive girl who wishes to change the world and a foolish girl who seeks the forbidden fruit. I wonder which one should I pity more.** "

"...Why do you always refer to what I seek as the forbidden fruit?"

" **Because it is. You are better off living in ignorance than to know about your connection to that man.** "

Rinne was deep in thought. It was always like that. The Phantom would leave her cryptic messages, clues that would leave her confused.

Did the enigmatic entity truly care for her, or was she trying to stop her for her own reasons?

"You know everything about us. Why hiding it?"

" **Let me correct you, there.** "

The Phantom's tone suddenly raised.

" **I know everything about** **you** **, but not exactly everything about him.** "

The entity then shrugged, as if she wanted her to process that for a moment.

" **And no, I'm not hiding things from either of you, or anyone for that matter. I just have no reason to tell any of you the truth.** "

"But you are not telling us even if we asked." Rinne noted.

The Phantom let out a chuckle again. " **That's because it is not enough of a reason.** "

The two of them continued to stare at one another for a moment, until Phantom's mosaics suddenly disappeared.

Rinne widened her eyes as she saw herself, clad in her Astral Dress, was staring at her. Not because it startled her, but because it was different.

The Astral Dress Phantom was wearing was considerably tighter than the one she had, and it was as dark as the night, with silver markings throughout its form. Her emblem too was a dark shade of silver instead of golden.

Her hair was purple instead of pink, and her irises were glowing black instead of crimson.

It was her Inverse form.

The Phantom giggled, with her voice this time. Somehow, it terrified her even more.

"Surprised?"

Smiling, the Phantom asked with a soft tone.

"T-that..."

Rinne ran out of breath. Her heart beat so quickly she could barely breathe.

"Y, you can even transform into… into that?"

"Why, of course."

Her dark copy shrugged as if it was the obvious thing.

"You... why show it to me?"

At that question, she suddenly smirked. It was so uncharacteristic with her own face, it sent chills down her spine.

"Think of it as my parting gift. You never had the chance to see it firsthand, right? Only though [Zafkiel]'s [Yod]..."

As she said that, her figure slowly dissolved, much like Rinne did when she left Shido here yesterday.

However, not into masses of light, but into what Rinne could only identify as darkness in material form.

Before she disappeared completely, though, Phantom smiled gently as she opened her mouth.

"Your choice of song isn't bad. I wonder if Fate was influencing it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go! As usual, leave your thoughts in the comments! By the way, the song used in this chaoter is called “One” by Altima, Shakugan no Shana Final's 2nd ED Song.
> 
> Thank you for following “Alternate Reincarnation” so far!


	10. The Date at Last: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sure you are here for Chapter 10, "The Date at Last: Part II"

It was 6.49 A.M as Shido prepared to leave his home.

Origami had asked him to leave earlier before the other girls woke up- which, considering what happened to him last night, would be a good idea.

Therefore, the blue-haired boy took a shower and changed his clothes as quickly as he could, and wrote a note for everyone to eat the Soba noodles. After that, the white-haired Spirit watched him as he was about to leave.

Tying up his shoelaces, Shido glanced back to his 'girlfriend'.

"I'll be leaving, Origami."

"Take care, Shido."

Shido had to fight his urge to frown at her slightly tired tone. He was used to her monotonous reply, so even a slight change in her voice was easily detected.

"Origami, you and the others can skip school and get a rest for today, you know."

"...Thank you Shido, but we can't exactly skip our second day, can we?"

" _Oh, right..."_

He sighed. Of course they couldn't, this was literally the beginning of the semester. They couldn't be absent this early, could they?

"Oh well. See you later."

Origami replied with the brightest smile she could manage, prompting him to look away and quickened his pace in embarrassment.

She rarely smiled – well, she rarely expressed anything at all – but the few precious moments when Origami did, it was just as irresistible as an angel's.

Closing the door behind him, Shido sighed. Time for school.

" _Let's go, Papa!"_

The cheerful mental voice didn't fail to lift up his mood.

" _Ah. Let's!"_

Walking out to the street, the blue-haired boy took a deep breath as he readied himself for his day.

"Oh, yeah."

Turning on the communicator in his ears, Shido double-checked its functionality- he didn't want to be chewed on by Kotori for not telling her that it was broken, after all.

"Hello, Kotori?"

Shido had expected his sister, but what he got was instead a very sleepy voice.

"Ah, Shin."

"Eh?" It took Shido a second to recognize who it was. "Reine-san?"

"Yes?"

"Um, where is Kotori?"

He had to ask that. She was usually the one who led date missions, after all. Reine only took over when she was not present.

"Oh? She mentioned she had to go out for some personal business."

He raised a brow. "Personal business? What kind of?"

"We don't know. Kotori only asked us to wait, and if she doesn't return by the time you are done with school, we are ordered to begin without her."

"Eh?" His brotherly instincts were alarmed. "What? Do you know where she is going?"

"Unfortunately, no. I did ask, but she was not willing to answer."

Now he was worried. It's not unusual for Kotori to go somewhere he didn't know, but when she went without informing the Ratatoskr, that's a whole different story.

" _Where is she going...?"_

"Any clue as to where she is going?"

There was a contemplative 'hmm' at the other end, before Reine answered.

"We can try searching her Spirit siganture."

"Please do, Reine-san."

* * *

Kurumi was having a good day.

As the cold breeze of winter swept her cheek, as well as her exposed arms, shoulders, and back, the Nightmare Spirit smiled at the feeling- she could still feel cold, but her Astral Dress reduced the sensation to comfortable levels.

Standing over the tallest building in Tenguu City once again, the Spirit of Time took a glance at her partner's location, the Raizen High School.

" _I hope she is not too nervous..."_

She was honestly slightly worried about it. Even though she knew that her partner was strong- in many sense of the word, she couldn't suppress the concern.

Her Angel made her a force to be reckoned with, and despite her gentle and meek nature, Rinne was a mother-like figure underneath. She could handle things beyond Kurumi's imagination.

And yet, the Nightmare Spirit couldn't help but feel concerned for her partner.

"...Heh."Kurumi chuckled. _"I'm getting soft..."_

It had been a while since Kurumi was worried about Rinne this much. It irked her a little, since she wasn't even half as worried when her partner was away.

" _Probably because she finally decided to execute her date."_

The quest to find the truth. To find out the connection between Itsuka Shido and Sonogami Rinne.

It shouldn't concern her this much. They only wanted to seek the truth. She had formulated a plan as well. Nothing should go wrong.

Yet, something she could only describe as a bad feeling kept flowing in.

"...Huh?"

She turned around. One of her clones just arrived from the other side of the building.

"[Me]!"

Kurumi frowned at the clone's panicked tone. Only a few things could make [Herself] panicked like that, and that usually meant something bad.

"Ara?" The original spoke. "You look pale. What did you see? Come here."

As her shadow grew in size and became a dark portal, the clone quickly jumped in and disappeared.

"..."

Kurumi couldn't help but gasp in shock as the clone's memory possessed her. It was the clone who watched over Rinne.

Seeing what the clone saw -specifically, who appeared before her partner, and what did she do- Kurumi clenched her fists.

"How dare..."

" **How dare she**!?"

For once, Kurumi was unable to keep her rage in check, and she had no desire to. Her Spirit energy, accidentally unleashed by her emotions, caused cracks to appear across the rooftop she was in.

She gritted her teeth so hard that she felt her teeth would shatter under the sheer pressure. She gripped her knuckles with so much force she felt she would tear apart her own muscles.

"Phantom..."

This was entirely that thing's fault. Kurumi didn't even have it in her to blame the clone who watched all of this... and did nothing.

It was partially her own fault, she would admit. Kurumi had ordered [Herselves] to gather information.

When Phantom appeared, the natural thing to do would be to observe, especially since the enigmatic being had never displayed hostility to anyone.

But this time, Phantom had done the unprecedented- all because her clones didn't immediately attack her on sight.

Enough was enough. It was one thing to copy Rinne and replicate her mannerisms. But to actually display her Inverse form in front of the girl herself?

The gentle girl who was traumatized by the monster hidden under her mind, not for herself, but for her friend?

Kurumi was really itching to destroy something now...

"… _Wait. No, not like this."_

Deep breaths. Calm down. She had to be the master to her own emotions. Besides-

" _Now is not the time for this."_

Her partner could be seriously affected by that stunt Phantom pulled on her. Her Inversion was a sensitive topic -if only because Rinne blamed herself for that- and even Kurumi brought it up with caution.

There's no telling what was going in her mind now.

" _Rinne..."_

As much as she wanted to say otherwise, Kurumi knew she was not the best in cheering people up. Especially, not after last night where she basically chewed Rinne out about Inversion.

Not caring about others helped a lot when you had to do what you need to do... but it also didn't help one bit when you were trying to console people you **did** care about.

" _...No."_

She didn't need to intervene. Rinne could handle this by herself. Phantom was just trying to shake her resolve with fear. It wouldn't stop her. Ruler couldn't be stopped that easily.

Just like Kurumi tried with Shido. It wouldn't succeed.

Taking another deep breath, Kurumi closed her eyes.

"I have my own part to do, after all."

* * *

"..."

Rinne leaned against the hand-rail of the Raizen High rooftop.

She was not in the mood to sing anymore, but she held her lyre tight on her chest regardless.

At least it brought her some sense of comfort.

" _Even she is trying to stop me..."_

It was frustrating. Before, when Rinne first told Kurumi about her desire to investigate Shido, her friend too was against it.

It took a lot to convince her to help, and even then, it was not until yesterday that Kurumi finally gave her full support, after witnessing the 'connection' herself.

" _And now her..."_

Phantom had never agreed with her in the first place, but today was the very first time the enigmatic entity had ever tried to stop her.

" _To display my Inverse form- she was trying to manipulate me."_

Rinne hated it. That Phantom tried to use her own fear against her. But more than that, she was confused.

What connection did she have with Shido, that even Phantom was going that far to hide it? Was it that much of a secret?

" _What are we? Shido and me... what connected us?_ "

"Shido..."

…

There was another intruder.

"Who is there?"

For once, Rinne allowed herself to glare hatefully to the door entrance, and hide her emotion from her voice.

She didn't want to sound impolite, but enough was enough. Rinne already had enough with Phantom who consistently came at her and Kurumi by sneaking.

"...We finally meet."

Rinne couldn't stop her surprise from showing as she recognized the feminine voice.

"Itsuka... Kotori?"

As if summoned by her mutterings, the redheaded girl stepped into the rooftop with her commander outfit and black ribbons.

Kotori's face was expressionless as she walked forward, before stopping a few meters away from her.

"Why are you...?" Rinne accidentally asked, but she stopped herself.

She supposed she shouldn't be too surprised. Last night, when she was reading [Web of Causality], she did saw that Kotori wanted to meet her.

Rinne hadn't expected her to do so in such a direct manner though. Wasn't Kotori suspicious of her actions? Shouldn't she be more wary of her?

The amount of questions Kotori's appearance had brought in her head began to annoy her.

" _Calm down... she doesn't need to take the brunt of my wrath."_

She found that she almost couldn't, however- she was very, very angry, and far from her usual self.

Still, Rinne barely managed a smile. Quickly, she curtsied.

"What a surprise. To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure?"

Kotori was slightly taken aback, Rinne noticed, but she recovered quickly.

"You and Kurumi are on the same length, huh? No need to act polite, Sonogami Rinne."

Befitting her powers, Kotori replied with heat in her tone. Rinne expected as much, though.

"Hum. We are partners, so her habits may be rubbing me off."

The redhead frowned slightly. "I suppose you are."

She had to giggle in amusement. Kurumi was right, Kotori was so stiff and fun to tease. It helped her calm down a bit.

Rinne wouldn't blame Kotori for acting that way, though. For the commander, she was a partner to an enemy. One that might endanger her dear brother.

Knowing that, shee had to be careful with her choice of words. Unlike the other Spirits, Kotori could basically call her Spirit strength from Shido at will.

A battle against [Camael] (Blazing Annihilation Demon) was going to drain a massive amount of her own energy, unless she chose to devour Kotori whole.

She had to admit though, beating Kotori into submission was kind of an entertaining thought. Kotori **did** almost kill Kurumi before.

That fateful day in this very rooftop months ago had her heart racing. Rinne had to intervene with her [Dance with Destiny], manipulating probabilities so the berserk Spirit of Fire's consciousness returned back at the last second.

That was one of the few times she had lost her patience. Although to be fair, Kurumi also crossed the line at the time. Sending Shido into utter despair by killing innocent people? Rinne couldn't accept that, ever.

But then again, Shido had also set Kurumi off by saying 'he would save her'. That... was not a good idea, concerning the Nightmare Spirit.

" _...I really can't decide who is right and who is wrong, at times."_

Now though, Rinne had no time for that. She had to talk with Kotori.

"Very well. What do you want from me?"

Kotori narrowed her eyes, as if what she was about to say was repulsive.

"...I need to talk with you."

Rinne pretended to be surprised. She wasn't supposed to know about that, after all.

"Me?" She narrowed her eyes on purpose. "What would you want to talk about? And with me, of all people?"

"I have a lot of questions," Kotori clenched her fists, "and I hope you can answer it for me."

Rinne had to resist commenting about how adorable Kotori looked when trying to suppress her emotions like that.

"What makes you think I will answer them?"

"Because..."

Kotori paused, and stared at her deeply. It was as if she didn't want to admit something.

"You are Tokisaki Kurumi's partner. That alone makes you can't be trusted."

Rinne frowned slightly. Kotori clearly didn't like Kurumi, alright.

"But," Kotori sighed, "our observation determined that you are not hostile, unlike her. So we decided to approach you."

Her frown was quickly replaced with a smile. That was high praise, coming from the paranoid and protective Spirit of Fire.

She decided that needed some sort of retort.

"I see... that's nice of you, Kotori-chan."

Kotori twitched at the almost-mocking choice of honorifics. Rinne chuckled at that and continued.

"You are not the patient one, aren't you? Feel free to begin your interrogation anytime, Itsuka sister. I can't guarantee I will answer all of your questions, but I can certainly be your chatmate until evening."

" _Before the date begins, at least."_

"...Very well."

Kotori took a deep breath, clearly mentally preparing herself.

"Let me start with this: Who are you?"

Rinne raised a brow. "Pardon?"

"I'm asking for your identity, Sonogami Rinne. You are a Spirit- and I'm sure you know that in Japan, every single case of Spirit appearances are recorded by the Ratatoskr, the JGSDF, and the DEM." Kotori elaborated.

That was a bit surprising, Rinne supposed. But she did see the point Kotori was asking.

The redhead continued. "However, while we can find records about your partner, Tokisaki Kurumi, we are incapable of finding anything about you. That's nearly impossible for a Spirit."

She decided to respond at that point. "In short, you want to know who am I, and how did I manage to stay under the radar until now. Am I correct?"

The young girl narrowed her eyes. "Yes."

Rinne thought about that for a moment. A private information to leak, but she supposed it was fine to tell her bits and pieces of her background.

She had to confirm something first. "Do you know that all Spirits used to be humans?"

"We do." Kotori replied easily.

"That makes it easier, then. Phantom gave me my Sephira Crystal five years ago."

Kotori widened her eyes at her statement, but Rinne wasn't finished yet.

"And before you ask, yes... it was on that day. 3rd of August."

* * *

Kotori's heart almost skipped a beat.

" _3rd August!?"_

It was the very day Kotori was transformed into a Spirit by Phantom. It was also the day Shido and Kurumi time-travelled to, in order to stop Origami from killing her own parents.

The Spirit in front of her smiled mysteriously.

"Phantom made contract with me after she did yours. What a coincidence, eh?"

" _Coincidence? I think not."_

That day was even more fateful than she thought before...

Regardless, she wasn't finished with interrogating the Spirit. "Did Phantom erase your memories, or did you keep them?"

The commander had to ask that. It seemed inconsistent, Kotori and most other Spirits had their memories erased immediately after contract. However, two recently born Spirits, Miku and Origami, didn't.

"I lost my memories." Ruler closed her eyes. "For an entire year, I spent my time without an identity, and all I had were my [Cassiel]. Fortunately, my powers did allow me to evade AST constantly, so I am quite lucky, I suppose."

Kotori didn't miss how the Ruler Spirit avoided to elaborate about her powers. "...How do you remember your contract then?"

"Didn't Shido tell you about Kurumi's ability to see past memories? She used that to recover my memories."

Kotori heard that from Shido, but she needed confirmation. So it was true- then, it could be concluded that Ruler encountered Nightmare sometime after turning into a Spirit.

"Unfortunately," the Ruler let out a sigh, "I cannot tell you about my Angel, or more of my background. Is that fine?"

"That's fine with me. Now, my next question."

The commander had already expected that. In truth, asking her questions weren't the only reason she came here.

Kotori wanted to find out more about this Spirit. Ruler was very suspicious- her methods, her behavior, her **everything**. Kotori might let Shido endanger himself, but not without her preparing for it.

If Sonogami Rinne had a malicious intent with this date, Kotori had to stop it. With force, if needed. Kotori promised she was going to help Shido... this counted as help, right?

So far though, the Spirit in front of her didn't display any signs of lying. She answered her questions with bits of information, meaning she was hiding the whole truth. If she was malevolent- lying would be much simpler.

Kotori met Ruler's gaze head on.

"What do you want with Shido?"

Ruler raised a brow at the question. It seemed to ask, 'what do you mean?' Did she really not understand?

Fine then, she would be blunt.

"Kurumi wants to eat him, does she? Do you share her goal?" Kotori couldn't stop the venom in her voice from leaking.

If they are planning to hurt Shido, then there would be no need for further concern. Kotori would stop her, right here and now.

Against her expectations though, Ruler only let out a tired sigh.

"Why do you antagonize her so much? I know she has her faults, but she doesn't intend to kill Shido, you know."

" _What?"_

Kotori was about to burst in anger and rebuke her at that point. Kurumi didn't intend to kill him? Nonsense.

However, patience was the key. And now, Kotori had to listen, not act.

"...What do you mean?"

"[Zafkiel] is an Angel that manipulates time. However, all that power comes at the price of the user's life. Do you think Kurumi has an option when she has to steal lives? All she wants are Shido's Spirit mana. She has no intention to kill him."

That received her attention.

_"Only in his powers, eh?"_

She had suspected as much, but receiving the confirmation clenched her thoughts. So the only reason Kurumi hadn't decided to eat her brother yet because she wanted him to gather as much Spirit mana as possible.

But Shido had the Spirit mana of 8 Spirits now, and she hadn't done anything to him yet. What sort of thing Kurumi would like to do with that much power? It was terrifying to even consider.

Regardless, Kotori had her own saying in the matter.

"That doesn't excuse her actions. I think, if my observations are right... you seem to disagree with her actions as well."

Rinne twitched at the sentence. It seemed that her deductions were spot on.

"Why did you," Kotori paused for emphasis. "befriend a killer? Why someone like her? I can't even imagine how you put up with her."

Indeed, Sonogami Rinne didn't seem to be the ruthless kind of Spirit. In fact, that's been getting on Kotori's nerves- how could a girl like her be partners with Kurumi?

" _How did they even meet?"_

Ruler's expression become eerily blank. The Spirit then let her head hung low, eyes fixed to the floor, avoiding Kotori's gaze.

"I know her actions are unforgiveable..."

Slowly, Ruler lifted her head.

"...But that doesn't mean I will let someone badmouth her without knowing her circumstances!"

Ruler suddenly faced her with a furious glare, her initially brown irises now replaced with pulsing crimson.

Kotori's heart leaped from the sheer shock. By instinct alone, she took a step back.

It was unmistakable, there was an intense pressure in the air now – no doubt coming from the Spirit in front of her.

"You know, it's impressive how easily you defeated Kurumi that day."

It was a praise, she realized, no matter how begrudging it was. Was Rinne talking about that confrontation in this very place?

Kotori's thoughts came to a crashing halt as Ruler's crimson eyes radiated brightly, its Spirit energy could be **felt** from the stare alone.

"I suppose that explains your confidence to come here by yourself. But, if you measure my strength by comparing it to Kurumi's, you are in for a world of pain, Itsuka... Kotori."

Kotori could feel chills ran down her spine at the way Ruler hatefully spat her name.

_"I have to get out of here!"_

Her mind told her to run, but terror had crippled her legs. The dread she felt earlier, from Ruler's photo, all came back full force at the front of her mind.

"Ara, why don't you stop right there?"

She involuntarily jumped at the unexpected interjection. The familiar voice came from right behind her.

Turning around, Kotori found herself face-to-face with a familiar face with mismatched, unnatural eyes.

The Nightmare Spirit.

"Tokisaki Kurumi!?"

Kotori didn't even register to her presence.

_"How long has she been there!?"_

She was about to get away from the dangerous newcomer, but Kurumi suddenly grabbed her chin with both hands, forcefully pulling her closer with sheer strength.

A cheeky smile formed on the Nightmare's lips. "Greetings, Spirit of Fire."

She snorted in disgust as she could feel Kurumi's breath on her face.

"You bastard- let me go!"

By reflex alone, she pushed the hands off her face and took a few steps away from the Nightmare.

Kurumi only grinned at her. "Ara ara, such a rude welcome."

Kotori opened her mouth to retort. Kurumi was never welcome-

"Kurumi? Why are you here?"

Ruler's voice brought back her forgotten fear. She couldn't resist turning around again, not leaving her back exposed to the undoubtedly angered Spirit.

"I'm watching, you know. Rather than that, I'm more concerned with you. Don't be angry like that, partner."

Kotori was almost surprised at how soft Kurumi was speaking. It was a far cry from her usual self.

"…Oh!"

Then, as if she just realized it, Ruler's expression morphed into one of shock: her eyes and mouth were wide open. Soon after, it turned into one of guilt.

"I... I'm sorry..."

Ruler's pulsating crimson irises faded, replaced with brown ones again.

Kotori almost didn't believe what she was seeing. Was… was Ruler apologizing at her?

"I... I was annoyed, I didn't mean to take it out on you! I apologize!"

Ruler's tone were frantic, and she bowed awkwardly. Apparently, yes, Ruler was apologizing at her.

"I..." Kotori tried to sort her thoughts. "Uh, it's-"

Before she could even begin, Kurumi twirled around and glared at her. Kotori quickly shut her mouth.

"I apoogize to cut into your conversation... but may I ask you to stop right here and leave? We need some private time."

It was not a request. Rather, from her tone, it was a threat. Kotori didn't bother to hide her frown.

…But with the two of them together, she stood little chance now. Both to continue questioning, or to use force. She had no choice but to back down.

Kotori sighed. It was not often she was forced to admit defeat.

"...I suppose I don't have a choice. I'll take my leave."

She took her steps without glancing away from the duo, until she reached the door.

Kurumi smirked mockingly. "See you later, Itsuka Kotori."

Rinne didn't say anything- her eyes were not even at her.

Frowning for a few second, Kotori closed the door on them.

Now out of their sight, Kotori released the breath she held.

Being forced to be away from the two of them was simultaneously relieving and annoying.

Relieving, because it was clear Ruler was about to do something she didn't want to know if Kurumi didn't step in.

Annoying, because Kurumi had practically kicked her out of the conversation.

It was not the Nightmare Spirit's fault, in fact, it was her own fault for messing up the conversation, but...

_"Damn you, Kurumi_ _..."_

Kotori decided to curse her regardless.

Although, she supposed the conversation was not fruitless.

" _...I understand now."_

What she felt in regards to the Ruler Spirit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... that's it! Do share your thoughts in the comments!
> 
> Thank you for following the updates of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	11. Interluding Date, Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salutations! Time to continue reposting the second half of the already completed chapters!
> 
> Here is Chapter 11, "Interluding Date, Part I"

"I messed up…"

The Ruler whispered while averting her gaze, unable to face her partner.

She couldn't stop her feet from shifting nervously, partly because of embarrassment and partially out of guilt. Kurumi didn't even face her, the gothic girl was staring down the school's yard from the rooftop's fence.

She knew that this Kurumi was just a temporal clone of the original. The real Nightmare Spirit was preparing for the second phase of their plan. However still, clone or not, Kurumi had right to be angry.

The conversation with Itsuka Kotori just now was a mess. The Ruler didn't expect the Spirit of Fire to actually cause her genuine anger. Or rather, Rinne overestimated her own ability to stay calm.

Threatening Kotori was never a good idea. Not only the ensuing fight with her could hurt Rinne herself and the Itsuka sister, it could also hurt the students there, not to mention obliterate the school. All of which would cause Shido to lose his trust on her, and ruin the date before it even started.

" _It's intolerable, especially for her…"_

"Do you think so?"

The pink-haired girl widened her eyes as she heard a soft, gentle voice instead of the expected fury. She looked up to her partner, just in time to see her turning around.

"I think what you did was quite adorable."

As their eyes met, Kurumi smiled at her, one that was full of warmth and appreciation.

Dumfounded and not knowing what caused her to do so, Rinne only stared at her blankly. "Huh?"

"It was rash, I have to say." Kurumi chuckled.

"But I can't reject your actions, considering for whom you did it for."

Rinne sunk into a contemplative silence at her words. 'For whom you did it for'? Did that mean Kurumi appreciate it? Her impulsive and not-very-well-thought actions?

" _No way… Kurumi never accept mistakes…"_

"Kurumi, you-" Rinne was cut off.

"I know this doesn't sound like me, but I am quite… pleased that you defended me the way you did."

Kurumi paused for a moment, looking away as if she was trying to find the right words. After a moment, she continued.

"Only you and Shido-san would ever do that for me. And unlike him, nothing stops me from thanking you."

Realizing the implication, the Ruler Spirit was suddenly at a loss of words.

"Eh, um, I…"

Being appreciated so openly, Rinne couldn't help but feel embarrassed at Kurumi's words. However, the lyre player knew that, those words- didn't fit her partner.

Sonogami Rinne had known Tokisaki Kurumi for nearly five years. The Ruler had known the Nightmare inside-out. Therefore, she could tell what the goth girl would have responded.

However, as if Kurumi just read her mind, she spoke again.

"Ara, do you find me acting differently from usual?"

As she said that, Rinne nearly gasped in surprise. Not only she was correct, Kurumi basically admitted that she **was** acting strange.

"Hihihi, it seemed that when it comes to me, you are very perceptive. However…"

Kurumi put a hand on her chest, closing her eyes.

"I see that you don't remember me?"

Rinne narrowed her eyes at the clone. Kurumi's temporal clones were all her previous selves, who came to life after being given some of the original's time supply, or in other words, lifespan. Therefore, they should behave like her.

However, **this** Kurumi didn't take Rinne's actions as stupid, something the real deal would never do. That either meant that this clone either came from a distant memory before Kurumi became the way she was now, or-

A realization struck Rinne.

"Could it be… you were the one-"

For some reason, Kurumi seemed to already know what she was about to say.

"Yes. I was the one who was killed by [Herself]. That day, right here."

"Wh-what? That one…"

Rinne noticed that this 'Kurumi' didn't use confusing words such as [Me] to describe the original Kurumi. She used [Her].

Then this was her- the 'Kurumi' who wished to accept Shido's hand. This was the one who, in Kurumi's own words, were swayed by his hollow declaration.

As she recalled it, Rinne did **not** like it when Kurumi invaded Shido's school half a year ago, in June last year. Her murder of civilians were uncalled for, her methods to evade Takamiya Mana were ruthless, and her cruelty to Shido was simply **evil**.

However, Rinne was honestly cheering when Shido was so close to saving her- no, that was wrong. He merely convinced a clone. In a sense, it was 'Kurumi' but it was not the real Kurumi.

And then, the 'Kurumi' who wanted to be saved was killed. Like any other clone, just like that.

The Ruler Spirit couldn't hide her disappointment at that. Even though Kurumi's own safety was endangered by Kotori afterwards and she had to intervene to save her partner, Rinne didn't forget that 'Kurumi' who changed, and died.

'Kurumi' did appear again in the Tanabata Festival a month after, by some miracle. Rinne was happy seeing her return, but unfortunately, she didn't last long. The real Kurumi tracked her down, and killed her again. At that point, Rinne almost wished history wouldn't repeat.

But it seemed that, the wish on that tree was granted. However, she was curious.

"How do you come back?" Rinne asked.

" _After all, Kurumi certainly knew which of her memories she would use as a clone."_

At that, 'Kurumi' smiled.

"It seemed that my original made a mistake of accidentally recreating me after helping Shido-san and that idol during the Tenou Festival. [She] was in a hurry to replenish [Her] numbers and strength since [She] had attracted the DEM's attention."

As Rinne listened, she supposed that was reasonable. Indeed, Kurumi was quite anxious, she even considered calling Rinne here in case DEM did hunt her after that. Fortunately, they did not, and thus the Ruler didn't need to come.

" _To think that it would actually lead to this…"_

"Then that means… you have been around for five months, since September?" Rinne asked.

"Yes." The clone replied.

The Ruler was amazed. Like before, her survival -her existence- was nothing but a miracle.

Despite being clones of Kurumi, a powerful Spirit in her own right, temporal clones are very weak in comparison to the original. And, considering Kurumi's ruthless use of 'Herselves'… the possibility of survival got even lower.

" _But there she is."_

'Kurumi of that day' lived. The one whose heart had softened, was right here.

Somehow, it made Rinne happy. Somehow, her existence was proof that Kurumi could be saved.

Even though the Kurumi she knew and the 'Kurumi' who stood before her were different, somehow-

" _I feel… I can still do something for her."_

"I'm glad."

"Eh?"

"I'm happy that my friend can still be saved." Rinne said with a cheerful smile.

'Kurumi' widened her eyes at her words. "Wh-what are you talking about? I am just a-"

"Your existence is proof that the possibility exists. So, I am grateful. Thank you for existing, Kurumi."

That silenced her. Then, as if she was overheating, her cheeks became red. The Nightmare Spirit's expression became one of panic as the Ruler giggled. In embarrassment, 'Kurumi' turned around, and tried to inhale deeply to calm down.

"Hihihi. I made you blush." Rinne smiled.

"..."

The goth girl didn't reply. Rinne waited patiently at that- after all, she was the one who made her like that.

However, what came after was completely unexpected.

"Ara, it seemed that I successfully managed to cheer you up. 'Mission: Dropping Happiness for Ruler' is successfully completed!"

"Huh?"

All of a sudden, 'Kurumi' twirled around, giggled lightly and raised a fist into the air. Rinne was surprised, more to what she just said than what she was doing.

Rinne knew that the twin-tailed girl used to be overly imaginative with her words and behavior. And she also knew that Kurumi had stopped her habits long ago, thus this clone should be the same.

But judging from what she was seeing and hearing, it seemed that Rinne was wrong.

"Um, didn't you say you would drop that 'embarrassing' persona?"

'Kurumi' only smiled in response.

"And what part of it is embarassing, eh, Ruler?"

"Uh… you said everything."

"Which me are you referring to?"

"Eh? But you didn't exist until-"

"In this whole world, there is but one Empress of Time, and that is myself. And she is proud of what she is."

This 'Kurumi' smirked as she declared a technically correct argument flavored with what Rinne knew as hamminess. The Ruler meanwhile, gaped her mouth, processing the familiar lines that would certainly humiliate the real Kurumi.

After a moment of recognition, the pink-haired girl couldn't help but burst out in laughter.

"Pfft- Ha ha ha!"

"Haa?"

It was the Nightmare's turn to be dumbfounded. It seemed that she didn't expect the reaction.

"Hihihihi… Ha ha ha ha!"

The Ruler tried to stifle her laughing. She didn't intend to laugh at the ridiculous lines, it was just that it was so unexpected that she didn't know how to react.

Unfortunately, she couldn't stop herself. She was already shedding a tear from her hysterical laugh.

"H-hey! I had been praciticing that line for 2 months! You can't just laugh… like that…"

'Kurumi' made a pouting face, clearly offended and embarrassed. However, that only served to make Rinne laugh harder.

"Ku- Kurumi… just stop…"

Finally able to stop herself a few moments after, Rinne cleaned the tears on her eyes as she tried to return to the conversation.

'Kurumi' wasn't amused.

"Is that your thanks for me? That's rude."

"Sorry, but I can't help it. I mean, you always gave me that scary look whenever I tried to talk about them. And suddenly you-"

"I know, I know." The goth girl crossed her arms and pouted. "I sound ridiculous, right?"

"I never said that." The musician smiled and shook her head in rejection. "I just like it better when you are being honest."

The Nightmare Spirit took a peek at the Ruler with her red eye. It was clear she was not convinced.

"You are just saying that to make me feel better."

"Have I ever lied, Kurumi?"

At the direct question, the pouting girl faltered. "Well… no."

"Why the change though? I thought you disliked it." She changed the subject to satiate her curiousity. "What happened since June?"

'Kurumi' paused at the question, before smirking.

"Shido-san had said that she liked me better with that eyepatch back during the time travel, did he? Then I see no reason for me to discard what Shido liked about me."

Rinne widened her eyes at the statement.

 _"Oh… right."_ The Ruler quickly understood.

This was the 'Kurumi' who wished Shido to save her. Of course, this was the one who was also attracted to him.

The Ruler smiled.

"Then you are also a rival for me, eh?" Rinne asked cheekily.

"How could I? For Shido-san, I'm already dead." Kurumi chuckled.

"But you **are** alive, aren't you?"

"But right now, I only want to help you, partner."

Rinne raised a brow. "Hm? Help me?"

"Yes," Kurumi nodded, "help you with the date you are having."

"I have been spying on you and [Her] since you arrived in this city yesterday. And I must say, you and my original are very smart with the plan last night. However, I want to make a few changes." She elaborated.

Rinne became silent. This was the first time one of Kurumi's clones ever tried to contribute to the planning. There was no reason to refuse.

"Very well, let's hear what do you want to add."

* * *

"Huh…"

Already out of the Raizen High, Itsuka Kotori scoffed in displeasure as she walked away from the school.

" _I need to make some changes in the dating plan according to the new information…"_

Sonogami Rinne's personal data had become one of Ratatoskr's top priotities since her appearance yesterday. It would be useful in many ways: to find clues about both Tokisaki Kurumi and [Phantom], by virtue of being the former's partner and had her appearance used by the latter. Not to mention, it would help Shido conquer her.

That's why Kotori had risked going by herself for a chance to interrogate her. She had even mentally noted all the important points.

1\. Sonogami Rinne was reborn as a Spirit in 3rd of August, in the same day as herself. Just like most other non-recent Spirits, she lost her memories.

2\. The amnesiac Spirit met Tokisaki Kurumi sometime after her birth, and the Nightmare recovered the lost memories with her time-based ability. It could be inferred that they became partners some time after this meeting, although Kurumi's motive for doing so is unknown.

3\. It's unknown how the pair operate together since Nightmare is well-known by JGSDF, Ratatoskr and DEM, while there isn't a single record about Ruler. Rinne implies that her Angel has something to do with it, meaning that whatever power she possesses, it can only help to hide herself.

4\. Ruler appears to be much less malevolent and more stable than Nightmare. The stalking mission yesterday suggested Rinne has a functioning moral compass, and during the interrogation just now she willingly discloses information as much as she can, while also being patient enough not to consider attacking Kotori until provoked.

5\. Rinne seems to be genuinely fond of, fiercely protective, and loyal to Kurumi. Although her higher moral standards should put her at odds with the murderer, they seem to put it aside whenever they are together. The fondness seems mutual, as Kurumi appears to care for her well-being and opinion, at the very least.

6\. Kurumi needs a large amount of Spirit powers for something. Although this means Shido's life is not her target, it's possible that Kurumi has an end-goal with grand, large scale effects. With her ability to manipulate time and physically travel through timelines, this may or may not be disastrous.

The validity and details of some of these points were not foolproof, but Kotori believed most, if not all of them to be true. Their behavior and actions were too natural to be faked, and she couldn't imagine of any other possibilities.

" _Huh… if only I didn't mess up just now, surely I can gather more info."_

But now she had no time to dwell in it. All Kotori needed to do now, was to think how these information could help Shido later.

As the redheaded commander made a left turn to the direction of the Itsuka household, she pondered the dating plan once more.

From each of these points, the one which mattered to Shido the most was Rinne's connection to Kurumi. Seeing her violent reaction when Nightmare Spirit was insulted, Shido had to avoid them at all costs.

" _But conversely, Shido could appeal to her with that usual stubborness of his… especially if she secretly wishes Kurumi to be saved, as well."_

Another important point was Rinne's patience and stability. Factoring that in, Shido could get away with many choices that would have ruined most dates, although Kotori had to admit that usually, crazier options that made no sense somehow were the most effective.

" _I think I can even say that Shido wouldn't need the choices this time."_

The final, circumstantial point was that Rinne seemed to enjoy the same things as Honjou Nia: anime festival. The Ruler might not be an otaku, but she at least liked it enough for it to matter.

" _We are very lucky that the anime festival haven't ended."_

The festival lasted for three days, beginning two days ago. So today would be the closing day of the festival. Since most of the events began in the evening, it was actually a good idea for Rinne to promise the next date after school.

"...I had a bad feeling about this."

It was an unfounded statement. Everything was going quite well, in fact. Information, circumstances, setting, and preparation. All of them were going as expected, if not better.

" _Then, why?"_

Kotori frowned. Something didn't feel right. Usually, she always disregarded her gut feeling and focused more on what's in front of her, but this time-

"Kotori?"

"Eh?"

Hearing her name being called, Kotori who was deep in thought was suddenly brought back to reality, and her attention was directed to the voice in front of her.

It was her brother, standing a few meters ahead of her.

"Shido? Why are you here?" Kotori uttered.

"Why am I here?" Shido raised a brow. "I've been looking for you!"

Hearing such concern, Kotori felt embarrassed. "L-looking for me? Why do you do such a thing?"

"Isn't it obvious? You left the base without telling everyone where were you going! We were all worried."

"Eh? How do you know that?"

"Reine-san told me. She also uses the Fraxinus' sensor to find your location."

"Reine told you I was going by myself? …Damn, even though I bribed her with milk creams!"

Kotori had spent some of her money to buy Reine some milk cream puffs in order to keep her from telling Shido her 'business'. After all, the sleepy researcher could only be bribed with sweets. Unfortunately for her this time, it didn't seem to work.

Shido didn't seem to pay attention to that piece of information, however.

"Why would you keep it from the others? What were you doing?" Shido narrowed his eyes at her.

The redhead became silent at the question. Should Kotori tell him about what she just did? Even with her Angel, it was foolish to simply meet Rinne directly like she did. The only reason Kotori didn't get hurt at all was because of Kurumi's intervention.

Basically, Kotori just did the exact same thing as Shido did yesterday evening, 'charging foolishly into the enemy'. It was the very same thing Kotori berated Shido for. Even though she apologized for it, it was hypocritical for her to do such things.

Shido would be… her Oni-chan would be…

" _No… I am not going to hide anything from him."_

"Shido, I-"

UUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuu-

"...!?"

Kotori's confession was cut short as the loud, unpleasant alarm echoed through the streets. Of course, the Itsuka siblings knew what that meant.

"Spacequake alert!?"

"Kuh, now, of all times?!"

Shido nearly shouted in surprise, clearly not expecting any spacequake. Kotori didn't expect one as well, but at this point she had just grown used to them.

" _Is it a new Spirit? Or one of those two decides to summon a Spacequake?"_ Kotori thought.

As if to answer her, her phone in the left pocket of her skirt vibrated. Knowing it would be a call from Reine, Kotori quickly answered the call. Shido became silent, paying attention to the conversation.

"Hello? Is this Reine?" Kotori said.

"Yes, it is me. I assume you have met Shin?" A sleepy voice was heard through the phone.

"Why you! I promised you milk cream!" Kotori growled in irritation.

"I'm sorry, but I must have forgotten your offer." Reine replied calmly.

" _This analyst… I need to have some serious talk with her after this…"_ Kotori mentally noted.

"Well, enough about that. More importantly, what causes this spacequake? Is it a Spirit we already know or a new one?"

"The readings indicate that the spacequake is identical with the one summoned by Tokisaki Kurumi previously."

Kotori rolled her eyes. What was she up to, this time around? She had no way to tell whether this spacequake was summoned by the real Kurumi or just one of her clones, but this must be part of their plan.

"Where the spacequake will appear?" The commander asked further.

There was a pause. "I believe the location is close to where you two are. It's on Raizen High."

Kotori scoffed. _"So after getting me away, she decided to immediately start something."_

"Understood." Kotori directed her gaze at Shido. "Well then, Shido, we will talk later. Go to her, you brought your communicator with you, right?"

Kotori trusted she didn't need to say anything more to her brother to understand.

It was clear that this spacequake was intended to draw the Ratatoskr's attention. Otherwise, Kurumi would not have no reason to summon it on Raizen High.

Although Kotori still couldn't trust Rinne, so long as she was around it was unlikely for Kurumi to harm anyone, Shido included. That meant the spacequake was summoned for another reason.

Whatever the reason was, since the AST specialized in outdoor fights and the DEM had been less active since the incident with Nia, Shido could reach Kurumi before any of them did. Conflicts could be avoided, meaning overall Shido was relatively safe.

And anyway, the [Irregular] -Rio- couldn't possibly allow anyone and anything harm her 'father'. This would also be the best time to test the limits of the little Spirit's power.

Then, it was best to send Shido to accept Kurumi's invitation.

"I understand." Shido nodded. "Later then, Kotori, I'll be going!"

"Be careful, Oni-chan."

As Shido ran past her, Kotori too ran toward the Ratatoskr's base.

* * *

"Do you hear me, Shin?"

"Loud and clear, Reine-san!"

Testing the functionality of the communicator in his right ear again, Shido and Reine exchanged the sentences as the blue-haired boy ran as fast as he could to reach Raizen High.

"Be careful. Although Tokisaki Kurumi seems to invite you, we couldn't eliminate the possibility of AST or DEM reaching Kurumi's location faster somehow." Reine warned.

"Understood!" Shido replied.

As his legs continued to carry him forward, Shido's thoughts were in disarray.

" _What are you up to, Kurumi?"_

Shido couldn't help but ask that question in his head.

He didn't understand. What was Kurumi doing? According to Rinne, they would meet for the date after school. If the Nightmare Spirit were to cause a scene, even now in the morning before class started, AST or DEM intervention could interrupt the date.

No matter how, he couldn't comprehend the logic behind her current course of action.

" _Ahhh! It would be better if I just asked her directly."_

Focusing his attention ahead, Shido decided to try and use his Spirit powers to reach the school faster.

" _Rio, may I borrow your strength?"_ Shido asked.

" _Of course, Papa!"_ Rio replied cheerfully.

Then, his body suddenly felt a surge of heat, as tremendous power flowed in. Without realizing, his pupil whitened.

All of a sudden, his body was released from the shackles of gravity.

Shido recalled the familiar feeling as he defied the laws of the world around him for the first time. So his assumption about Rio being able to control his powers was right. So long as she was around, he could channel his powers to an extent.

"Thank you, Rio. Are you fine? Do you feel anything discomforting?"

" _Papa's always welcome! And Rio is fine with Papa's strength!"_

And with that, Shido smiled as he kicked the air, and flew toward the school at high speed. Knowing that most of the people around should be within shelters by now, and neither the AST or DEM could respond quick enough to catch sight of him.

With that, Shido decided to enjoy the feeling of high-speed flight to the fullest.

Although Shido was sure that Reine noticed that Shido liberally used his powers, the sleepy analyst didn't comment. It seemed she didn't mind.

" _Ah, there it is!"_ Rio commented.

As Raizen High was now visible in sight, Shido was able to spot someone, waiting on the center of the front Raizen High building's rooftop.

It was a girl clad in black-and-orange dress. She had assymetrical twin-tails, and mismatched eyes.

"Tokisaki… Kurumi!" Shido shouted.

"Ara." Kurumi said, turning to him.

Within seconds, Shido was able to reach the school's rooftop and got a clear view of the Spirit who seemed to be waiting for him. He then slowed his speed, and gently floated down to the floor.

At this sight, the Spirit in front of him seemed to be impressed..

"Ara ara, Shido-san. Your ability to control your Spirit power is splendid." Kurumi said, giggling.

"Ah, thank you, but this is not my doing. Rather than that, what are you doing here, Kurumi?" Shido asked, wary of the Spirit.

Shido's not-so-friendly tone was met with a cheerful smile. The gothic girl then stretched both of her arms to the side.

"Hihihi. I am not my partner, surely you didn't expect me to seek your attention with an elegant musical performance that only Spirits can hear?"

"So you really do summon a spacequake just to call me here… you are unbelievable, Kurumi."

The Nightmare Spirit merely chuckled. Shido let out a tired sigh at that, however, he knew didn't have much time before either AST or DEM arrived to the scene.

"So, why do you call me here?" Shido asked once more.

Kurumi's lips curved into a smile. "Always straight to the point, I suppose. You never change."

"Not at all, since the last time we met."

Shido raised a brow at the way she spoke. Kurumi didn't need to emphasize that point like that.

"What do you mean?" Shido asked again, confused.

"Exactly what I say. By the way, how have you been, Shido-san? Has time been nice for you? Or has it been cruel?" Kurumi's smile became brighter.

Shido paused. He felt like he had heard sentences like those before, somewhere. However, he couldn't recall when, or where.

"That's… Kurumi, don't you already know?"

"Hihihi, I only know things that have been happening to you, Shido-san. I don't know how you feel about it. Did you make good memories since we last met?"

The blue-haired boy became silent, this time. Those words… it was familiar. It didn't give him a strange, alien feeling like Rinne's did, but somehow he felt like he had heard them before.

Seeing his silence, Kurumi's smile disappeared, and in its place was a slight frown.

"Shido-san, do you have such a bad memory? Although we haven't been meeting in secret, I have never forgotten about you, you know."

"Eh?"

Shido widened his eyes in surprise. Those words… now he remembered.

" _No way… impossible! Could this Kurumi be… no way, she was_ _ **killed**_ _!"_

Recalling the 'Kurumi of that day' in last year's Tanabata, Shido shook his head in denial. There was no way the Kurumi standing in front of him was her.

The man with Spirit powers took a glance at the gothic girl in front of him. _"But I have no way of knowing… she looked the same."_

At his stare, Kurumi smiled once more. "Do you begin to remember?"

"No… there is no way…" Shido said, weakly.

The girl's smile turned into an amused smirk this time. "Ara, are you acting cold towards me because I am not wearing the underwear you specifically chose for me today?"

Shido gasped. "What!?"

The boy reevaluated his thoughts quickly. Now that he remembered it, that 'Kurumi' **was** killed before, right here, in this place. But she reappeared again in the Tanabata, somehow. Even the real Kurumi said it was like 'an act of God'

_Could it be… could it be the miracle that day repeated once more?"_

As he was too shocked to say anything, Kurumi closed her eyes as she raised her right hand in front of herself, and gently closed her palm.

"Look at this, Shido-san."

She opened her palm, and on it, an orange paper. On it was written something, which Shido couldn't read due to the distance. However, he didn't need to read it to know what was it.

Kurumi's smile became very warm.

"It seems that my wish was granted."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And… that was it! Share your thoughts in the comments! I apologize since there is no Mayuri yet~ I did promise she will appear soon, though. And I'm not taking back my promises.
> 
> Thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	12. Interluding Date, Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Here is chapter 12, "Interluding Date, Part II" for all of you!

The snow that filled the sky minutes before had stopped falling.

"Is that… your Tanzaku?"

Shido blinked. He couldn't believe that the wish paper for Tanabata, the one he had hanged on that tree half a year ago was still around, let alone intact in the hands of the Spirit who wrote it.

More than that, that Tanzaku was probably the ultimate proof that this was 'Kurumi of that day', who was now before him. The real Kurumi would probably tore it to pieces instead of keeping it if she ever found it.

_"How did this happen, though?"_

Shido really didn't have a clue. Like that time, when 'Kurumi' just appeared, and asked him to go for a date with him. It really was out of the blue, and now was no different.

However, Shido didn't care at this point. All he knew was, he was glad. 'Kurumi' hadn't died that day. For him, that was a blessing in and of itself.

"Hihihi, correct." 'Kurumi' smiled, before closing her palm once more and the Tanzaku disappeared.

"Do you doubt me now, Shido-san?" She asked once more.

Shido shook his head.

"How could I? Kurumi... I'm glad I can see you again." He said earnestly.

The twin-tailed girl giggled happily at that. "Ahh, Shido-san… you really know how to make a lady wait."

Shido merely chuckled in return, and took a deep breath, trying to calm the Spirit mana around him. Without him noticing, the whitened pupil he had disappeared.

"Did I make you wait too long, Kurumi?" He asked with a smile.

"No," she shook her head gently. "you didn't."

And with that said, the girl ran toward him. Shido only closed his eyes, knowing that Kurumi was the type who didn't have a sense of personal space didn't even bother him at this point.

As soon as her hands could reach him, she cupped his face and pulled him closer. The blue-haired boy didn't resist, and let the goth girl did what she wanted.

"I really miss you, Shido-san…" She whispered as their eyes met, her breath felt on his lips.

"Kurumi…" He blushed slightly.

For a moment, the two didn't say anything. Shido didn't bother to say anything. They didn't need to. Their eyes had said more than enough.

Shido could see it. Her desire, her longing desire for him. Her fear, her fear of dying before she could meet him. Her gratitude, for being able to see her wish fulfilled. Her happiness, for being able to finally hold him again.

_"I wonder what does she see in my eyes?"_

Although wondering, Shido didn't bother asking. That was for her to know. For him, this was already enough.

'Kurumi' smiled, and let him go.

"Hihihi…" The goth girl chuckled.

"Eh?" Shido uttered, dumbfounded.

"Shido-san… it's too quick to expect me to reward you with such a gift, isn't it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know… k-i-s-s." 'Kurumi' whispered to his ear.

"Ehhh!?" Shido was taken aback. "N-no! I wasn't expecting to be kissed, what are you talking about!?"

He unconsciously took a step back. The twin-tailed girl chuckled at that, before she twirled around three times to widen their distance, stopping as Kurumi faced Shido once more.

"Ara, look at what we have here…"

'Kurumi' stomped her foot, and that instant an ancient pistol appeared from her shadow. Before Shido could react, she grabbed the gun with her right hand and immediately fired it to her right without even glancing.

Shido only managed to gasp at her quick movements, before he turned to see what did she just shoot.

It was a familiar machinery sitting near the edge of the rooftop. It had a slender body made of metal, with large arms and legs facing backwards. [Bandersnatch], as Kotori called it.

It had lost its head, though, courtesy of 'Kurumi'.

"That thing…" Shido uttered.

"A lone unit… just a scout, eh? They are faster than I thought." 'Kurumi' commented.

At those words, Shido was reminded of the situation he was in. AST and DEM were coming to the location of the predicted Spacequake.

"Kurumi, why do you call me here?"

"Ara, I forgot about that. Wait a moment, Shido-san, let me stop the incoming Spacequake first."

'Kurumi' snapped her fingers, as if that was necessary to stop the Spacequake from appearing. Shido immediately contacted Reine to confirm the Spacequake's disappearance.

"Reine-san, how is it?"

"Don't worry, the signal has disappeared."

"I see." Shido turned to the goth girl in front of him. "Thank you, Kurumi."

"Hihi, don't mention it. Now then, allow me to inform you why do I need you here, Shido-san."

The girl then summoned a musket from her shadow and caught it on her right hand, before she continued.

"But before that, enlighten me, is your sister listening to our conversation now?"

"Huh? No, Kotori is probably on her way back to the Ratatoskr base. Why? Do you have some business with her?"

"What I'm about to ask you is not something you can decide for yourself." 'Kurumi' noted. "While we wait, I suggest we should leave this school before the AST and DEM arrive."

Shido became slightly curious at her intentions, but he nodded regardless. No matter what, they should avoid combat anywhere near civilian shelters. AST would avoid that, but the DEM wouldn't.

"Very well, let's go."

Channeling his Spirit powers once more, the two of them flew away from the Raizen High School grounds.

* * *

Somewhere in one of Tenguu City's tallest buildings, an assembly of darkness was held.

There were probably hundreds of girls with identical appearances- clad in blood red and shadow black dresses, tied their hair with uneven twin-tails, and all of them had a mechanical clock as their left eyes.

All of them were past selves of Tokisaki Kurumi, the Nightmare Spirit.

The rooftop was spacious, but with such a large number of people, it was quite crowded for them. Regardless, more than a few of the clones engaged in chattering about trivial things, such as what happened in their observation mission.

Looking down on the large number of [Herselves] below, the real Kurumi sat on a water tank as she waited for more to come. Some of them were late for the gathering.

_"Hum… to think that some of Mes lack discipline…"_

Kurumi was about to hold a meeting for the second phase of the plan. That phase would involve combat, meaning she needed to prepare a large amount of 'time'.

The purpose of this meeting was to redistribute the numbers of Herselves on the map. They were originally dispatched to observe the city, but now they would adopt new positions in order to consume as much lifeforce as possible from the citizens.

_"For that purpose, they should be fairly distant from each other so that their [Cities of Devouring Time] don't overlap."_

Although they would definitely attract the attention of AST and DEM, Kurumi had already calculated that, even with the annoying [Adeptus] 1 and 2 around, at least half of these clones would return to her by evening, with more than enough power boost for the second phase.

"Hmm…"The Nightmare Spirit observed the crowd of Herselves once more. About three more large groups had arrived to the rooftop, which increased their number by another three hundred.

Kurumi supposed she had waited long enough. _"Very well… I suppose it's time to start the-"_

"…Ara?"

That moment, 'something' happened.

All of sudden, silence befell upon them. The Kurumis who were talking, suddenly stopped.

Some of them looked at each other nervously. Some frowned and turned their sights toward their environment.

After moments of contemplative silence, some of them finally spoke.

"Ara ara?"

"Is this what I am thinking it is?"

"Distortion… it's a Spacequake."

"From the direction of Raizen?"

As the Kurumis discussed the unexpected event, the real Kurumi growled in displeasure as she stood up and turned her gaze to the general direction of the school.

These clones could detect Spacequakes, but the Spirit knew her temporal selves simply didn't have enough power to identify who summoned it.

_"This signature… it's one of Mes."_

Knowing this, the Nightmare sighed and palmed her face.

_"How could this happen? This was not part of the plan. "_

Kurumi didn't order any of her duplicates to summon a Spacequake. If anything, summoning a Spacequake in Raizen High was something to be avoided, as it would simply interfere with Shido's school and Rinne's part for phase one.

And yet, one of her clones just did. She had always known that each of her past selves had independent minds but it was very, very rare for them to rebel. But, the improbable had happened, and Kurumi didn't anticipate it at all.

"To think a rogue will choose this time to ruin my… no, **our** day."

As if responding to her own murderous intent, her Spirit mana responded, and her single human eye glowed crimson.

Some of her clones were visibly unnerved by her, but Kurumi didn't pay them attention. Now she had to improvise the plan, and the Nightmare Spirit knew how to do just that.

"I suppose I will hunt her down."

"Hmm, you don't have to go that far, Kurumi."

The goth girl froze in surprise at that voice.

Not only because the voice had caught her off guard, but also because Kurumi recognized the voice of the girl who spoke, and that she was right behind her.

_"When did she get there?"_

"Rinne?"

As she turned around, Kurumi found the Ruler Spirit stood a meter behind her, already clad in her purple and gold Astral Dress and carrying her Angelic lyre [Cassiel] with her left hand, waving with her free hand with a smile.

"Hello."

Recovering from her surprise, Kurumi frowned slightly. Both of them should knew Rinne was not supposed to be here, so what was she-

"You… what are you doing here?"

Rinne kept her expression neutral as she presented her lyre toward the goth girl. Kurumi raised an eyebrow at that.

"Do you want me to explain, or just share what I have seen and heard?"

The Nightmare Spirit's expression turned serious. Rinne preferred to talk and report things with her own words rather than using her ability to share their fates with [Fate Connection].

That meant, what had happened was complicated and significant enough for her to consider using it.

What happened? Did Rinne knew about her rogue clone?

"The latter." Kurumi pointed at Cassiel. "It's rare for you to offer the experience, so I will take it when I have the chance."

"Hee hee," Rinne chuckled, "I know you will pick that one, really."

"That's true. But, would you please give me an idea as of what to expect?"

"The thing I can say is, you will be surprised. Very, very surprised."

Kurumi mentally prepared herself as she reached her hand out to touch the lyre on Rinne's hand. The Ruler Spirit's look turned serious when she did.

"Cassiel! Fate Connection!"

In that instant, their fates intertwined. Two different memories and experiences were shared to each other.

Kurumi widened her eyes at what she saw, heard, and felt.

"This is…!"

* * *

"Okay, all set."

Origami muttered to herself just as she finished changing from her pajamas to her school uniform, having finished her bath three minutes ago.

_"About time to wake the others up…"_

Although she was sure it was going to be difficult to wake those Spirits out of their slumber -especially considering last night- Origami prepared herself for the task. After all, she had volunteered to help Shido this way.

_"After all, he did ask for my forgiveness like… that."_

Origami was not an expressive girl, but she was not emotionless. And Spirit or not, no female could remain composed if the man she loved embraced and comforted her like that.

That was more than Origami could ever hope to ask, so she decided she had to answer with just as much determination.

"I suppose I'll wake Yamai first…"

Yoshino and Natsumi both didn't go to school, so it should be fine to leave them be. And between Yamai and Yatogami Tohka, it was obvious which one she would wake up first.

_"After Yamai would be Izayoi Miku… I'll call her after this, in case she has difficulty to wake up on time."_

Just as she walked out of her apartment room, though, she noticed a car just stopped in front of their apartment.

"Hmm?"

As she was pondering who was it, the window next to the driver's seat lowered itself to answer her question.

It was a young girl roughly 14 to 15 years old in appearace, with a familiar blue hair and brown eyes. She had a beauty mark under her left eye, which only served to make her look more adorable.

Origami widened her eyes. "Takamiya... Mana?"

Before Origami could say anything else, Mana called out to her.

"Tobiichi-san! Is that you?"

Not knowing why she was there, Origami replied to the question with a question. "Why are you here?"

"There is a Spacequake! I am sent here to pick you up so we can hide from the Spirit and DEM!" Mana shouted.

Origami narrowed her eyes at the statement. "Spacequake? Is it a new Spirit, or is it [Nightmare] or [Ruler]?"

"I don't know, Murasame-san sent me before they could get a reading. However for now, let's warn the others and leave!"

The white-haired Spirit nodded. "Acknowledged."

* * *

"Sorry, am I late?"

Panting after running for some tens of minutes, Kotori finally reached the control room of the still under-repair Fraxinus. Most of the crew were already there, including Murasame Reine, the traitor.

"Not at all." Reine answered her in her usual tone.

"You…" Kotori threw her a glare as she reached to her pocket for her chupa-chups. "we will have a long talk later, Reine."

"Understood. By the way, Shin and Kurumi have been waiting for you." The analyst gestured to the captain seat.

"Kurumi too, huh…"

" _What would she want?"_

The redhead immediately took her seat and cleared her throat as she observed the screen, which received footage from various hidden cameras in the city.

It appeared that Shido and Kurumi were inside an empty restaurant, hiding under some circular table.

"What…? What are they doing? Trying to avoid detection by sight?"

That was not going to work… using Realizer they could detect Spirit energy through even the most solid physical barriers.

Deciding to brush it off, she spoke.

"Hey, Shido!"

"Eh?"

As Shido's voice was heard from the Fraxinus' computer, on the screen the blue-haired boy came out from under the table and looked around.

After some effort, he finally found the hidden camera from which Kotori was looking, and waved.

"Kotori? Is that you?"

Shido asked through the communicator in his ears. It seemed he at least remembered to bring it with him this time.

"Yeah, sorry to make you wait. What's the situation? Reine said you need me."

"Ah about that, Kurumi wants to talk to you." Shido turned to the table. "Kurumi, Kotori is online!"

"Finally…"

Kurumi was close enough for her voice to reach Shido's communicator, as she too came out from under the same table Shido hid under.

Kotori narrowed her eyes at Nightmare's image on the screen, who was staring at the camera's direction in the restaurant.

Now that Rinne had told various things about her, her impression of Kurumi had worsened. If she was being honest, Kotori was more suspicious of her than ever.

"Shido, call me with your phone and give it to her. I need to talk to her directly."

"Huh? Okay."

At her command, Shido drew out his cell-phone, inputted her number, and dialed before he gave it to the Spirit beside him.

"Here, Kurumi. Kotori wants to speak to you directly."

"Ara, that's convenient."

Kurumi accepted the phone with an exaggerated pose.

Kotori reached out to her own phone and answered the call immediately

"What do you want, Tokisaki Kurumi?" Kotori tried sound as harsh as she could.

"Ara ara, straight to the chase too, I see. Like brother, like sister?" Kurumi retorted with a hint of amusement in her voice.

She knew it was intended to tease her, but she couldn't stop her cheeks from heating up. "S-shut up! What business do you have with Ratatoskr!?"

The Nightmare Spirit giggled lightly, much to her annoyance. After a moment though, she cleared her throat before responding.

"Itsuka Kotori… no, Ratatoskr's commander." Kurumi's tone and expression became serious.

"I'd like to strike a deal with you."

Kotori narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Deal, huh? You sound like [Phantom] now."

The Nightmare Spirit smiled deviously. "Am I now? I suppose I do. Putting that aside, my deal is simple."

"My original self and my partner will offer you a Spirit."

She was sure she couldn't prepare herself for that. Kotori had to consciously stop her candy from falling off her mouth.

" _Offer us a Spirit? That's…"_

Kotori didn't believe her. That was beyond ridiculous.

"Give us a Spirit…?" Even Shido looked visibly baffled onscreen.

Kotori agreed with his scepticism. "You… how will you do that?"

"Ara, it's simple. Right now, the original [Me] and Rinne are about to invade one of DEM's secret branch. All they need to do in order to fill our bargain is to release the Spirit imprisoned there and then offer her to you."

Kurumi stated casually while shrugging, as if achieving all of those would be easy.

Shido was the first to voice his disbelief. "Such a thing…"

"You don't believe me, Shido-san?" The Kurumi faked a hurt look.

"No, it's not like I don't want to believe in you, but…"

Kotori grunted in agreement. But the more she thought about it… the more believable it became, as crazy as that sounded.

This was an unexpected development. There was no reason to trust Kurumi's words, but at the same time there was little chance that the Nightmare was bluffing.

No matter what, offering to give a Spirit directly to Ratatoskr was a bold move, and unless she planned to go through with it, Kurumi wouldn't need to go this far to talk with her directly like this.

If Kurumi was deceitful, tricking Shido alone would be easier. As much as Kotori hated the thought, it was true.

_"Then... what could she possibly want from us in return?"_

The Nightmare would have her demands, for sure. This was a deal, after all. Just like with Phantom.

"And what are your demands, Nightmare?"

"Hihihi, you are not going to question the validity of my proposal?" Kurumi chuckled. Was that a challenge?

"For now, I won't ask. State your demands, now." Kotori responded curtly.

"Very well then. My partner and I wish for two favors in return."

The Nightmare Spirit raised a finger, signifying her first demand.

"First, I want your assistance for distracting the enemy forces."

Kotori figured as much. That would be easy to fulfill, and in technical sense it was not even a favor.

Ratatoskr would naturally do anything if it meant securing the Spirits from harm. Even joining forces with untrustworthy Spirits like Kurumi.

If that was her first condition, her second condition would be something significantly more costly.

Kurumi raised another finger. "Secondly…"

"My partner and I would request to meet up with every Spirit under the Ratatoskr's custody, in a time and place we will decide."

Excuse her ears, what?

"What!?" Kotori couldn't suppress her shock.

"With everyone?!" Shido was definitely just as alarmed as her.

Then, uncharacteristically, Shido glared sharply at Kurumi.

"…Kurumi, what are you planning?"

"Ara ara. I can't deny that both my partner and I have an underlying motive for proposing this."

The Nightmare Spirit smirked. Kotori wished she could wipe it off her face.

"However, I can assure you that we won't bring you any harm. And anyway, if you are all together, can anyone hurt any of you and get away with it?"

Kotori frowned hard at that last statement. The Nightmare Spirit was powerful, but for everyone together, defeating her was probably not going to be a particularly difficult task.

However, Kurumi was not alone this time around. The Ruler -Sonogami Rinne- was going to participate as well, and she was an unknown factor.

Nobody except her partner knew what kind of ability she possessed, or how much power she had. That meant Kotori couldn't afford to lower their guard.

" _Wait, does it mean-"_

A realization hit her.

If the Ratatoskr was to assist Kurumi and Rinne with their battle, then it would be a great chance to observe the Ruler in battle.

" _I see… they must realize this, as well."_

Kotori highly doubted the Nightmare and Ruler required any actual assistance, but they still went out of their way to let the Ratatoskr observe them.

It would seem that Kurumi wanted to demonstrate her partner's abilities to lower the distrust between the two parties.

By providing Ratatoskr with a chance to prepare countermeasures for them, Shido and the others would feel safer to attend the meeting with the two of them.

_"Humph. Well-played, Kurumi."_

Most likely, this deal was their first step in establishing future deals with Ratatoskr. That explained why Kurumi had to intervene during her talk with Rinne at that school rooftop almost an hour ago.

_"So they really want to establish connections with us…"_

This was not Kurumi's usual modus operandi. It seemed that Rinne had quite the influence on her partner when she was around.

However, it was too soon to be relieved. Kotori still didn't know what they were after, especially with the meeting they requested.

Kotori decided to bite the bullet. "If we refuse… what would you do with the Spirit you will release?"

The goth girl frowned slightly. "If you refuse, then you don't need to know what we will do to her."

"Kurumi! How could you say that?" Shido sounded hurt at that statement.

Kotori smiled. He would not stay still at the possibility of a Spirit getting hurt, all right.

"Don't worry, Shido-san. Your sister knows what's best for Ratatoskr, and for the Spirits they are aiming to secure."

The Nightmare Spirit grinned widely, almost as if she was mocking them. However, Kotori would not fall to that provocation.

"So, how is it, Ratatoskr? Do we have a deal? Or perhaps, our demands are too much for you to accept?"

Kotori bit her lip. This was a huge gamble.

If she accepted, Ratatoskr would be able to save a Spirit from the clutches of DEM and gain information about Ruler.

But Shido and the other Spirits would have to take a huge risk by meeting Nightmare and Ruler directly, under their desired circumstances.

But if Kotori refused- Kurumi and Rinne would probably gain another ally with completely unknown abilities, and the Ratatoskr would lose a chance to observe Ruler's powers at all.

And if Rinne decided being semi-negotiating didn't work, they would try again with more extreme methods, which would endanger Shido anyway. Between Kurumi and Rinne, they didn't have unlimited patience.

" _In this kind of situation…"_

"Kotori."

Hearing her name, Kotori glanced to the screen. It was Shido who spoke her name.

The first thing she noticed was his expression. His gaze were firm, and his face was stern.

It was colored by pure, unwavering determination. All directed, toward her.

"Ah…"

Kotori felt her heart was stolen from that look alone. So she closed her eyes.

…Yes, how would Shido think about this deal? She shouldn't just think for herself.

" _From her brother's point of view, he would…"_

There was no question about it.

"...Very well, Kurumi. We accept your deal."

Opening her eyes, Kotori steeled her voice for that declaration.

She noticed that both people on the screen smiled widely at her choice, though probably for completely different reasons.

* * *

_"See? Your past self succeeded, Kurumi."_

_"Fufu..."_

Rinne smiled at the sight of the giggling Kurumi.

She had shared her memories in the past hour, mostly about the conversation with 'Kurumi of that day', including the clone's proposed change of plans, and what Rinne thought about the whole thing.

Now, both of them were sitting next to each other on the water tank in the skyscraper rooftop, still connecting to each other by holding Cassiel on her left hand, while all the other Kurumis had either returned to their observation mission, or Kurumi's own shadow.

The two of them were not just sharing memories this time. Now, they were chatting with their thoughts, and Rinne had activated [Web of Causality] in conjunction with Fate Connection to allow Kurumi to read what the [Strings of Fate] were displaying.

Just now, they had witnessed the success of their new plans, courtesy of 'Kurumi'. It was pleasant and satisfying.

Rinne smiled lightly.

_"Seriously… whichever it is, all Kurumis are very good at thinking on the fly."_

Kurumi returned her smile.

_"I have to admit it, I think the Me of that time is too naive. But it seemed that even the naive had their ways too."_

The plan made by the original Kurumi last night was divided into three phases, which would made full use of everything they had. The changes made by 'the other Kurumi' though, mainly modified the first two.

The original first phase was the first date with Shido. While Kurumi was gathering as much Spirit mana as possible for the second phase, Rinne would work to build up trust with Shido. Although her partner insisted that she should call it 'enjoying herself'.

The second phase, would be invading DEM after the date with Shido was over. Since directly using Zafkiel's Yod or Cassiel's Fate Connection on Shido carried high risk of Inversion, then they simply need to eliminate the possibility.

One way to do so was to use Realizers that the DEM used to brainwash their officers. Using that, Kurumi could simply shut down Rinne's own mind if she started going berserk, just like how Nia's memories of horrible torture were shut down.

Rinne didn't mind having her mind manipulated: after all, she trusted Kurumi.

But, with the current plans, they were about to reverse the order. 'Kurumi' would use Ratatoskr's assistance to help both Rinne and the original Kurumi invade DEM.

This would conserve their energy and time while eliminating the need for Kurumi to risk AST's attention by draining a large number of citizens, plus relieving the tension between Rinne and Kotori somewhat.

Plus, if Ratatoskr decided to keep their end of the deal, then phase three would be pretty much secured.

_"Do you agree with us now, Kurumi?"_

_"Yes. I don't see a reason to oppose it at this point."_

Rinne let out a sigh of relief at that. She was afraid Kurumi was going to reject it.

All of sudden however, Kurumi let go of Cassiel, severing the connection between them, surprising Rinne.

"Eh?"

The Nightmare Spirit leaped off the water tank and onto the rooftop's floor. Kurumi then walked forward, widening their distance.

"Kurumi?"

No reply. Rinne's eyes followed her friend until Kurumi halted, almost 10 meters away.

From where Rinne was looking at, Kurumi looked like a gothic girl who stood by herself in the midst of an empty world.

As they both were on top of a skyscraper, the scenery of the city became the background, and Kurumi became the center.

It was a lovely, beautiful sight. But at the same time, it also made Kurumi look very lonely, for some reason.

"You know…"

Kurumi suddenly broke the silence.

"I wonder why do you want me to stop, Rinne."

It took Rinne a second to process what Kurumi meant before understanding hit her.

_"Wait, could she mean about her goal...?"_

Kurumi disliked talking about that topic, even to her. It was some sort of taboo between them - and Rinne could respect it. But, why now-

_"…Ah, right. Our minds were shared."_

Then… Kurumi was fully aware of her feelings.

When Rinne met 'Kurumi of that day' – she had expressed one of her deepest wishes.

The possibility of Kurumi giving up about her revenge for the First Spirit. The possibility that the 'other Kurumi' had embraced.

Her desire for her friend to be saved. A desire she had harbored in secret for a long time now.

Rinne was about to open her mouth, but Kurumi seemed to be aware of her discomfort.

"Oh, please be at ease. I am not about to lash out or anything. I already know that you would have preferred me to give up my wish. I know that much."

'Although I certainly didn't know you desired it so much,' was left unsaid by Kurumi.

Kurumi's tone was even, but to Rinne, it was clear as day. She was upset, and took that almost as badly as a betrayal.

It felt like a knife to Rinne's heart. She never wanted for her friend to feel like that.

"If I succeeded in preventing the birth of the First Spirit, then Spirits will no longer exist. Me, you, Shido-san, everyone- will be normal humans. Wouldn't it be a better scenario than if I were to fail?"

There were hints of accusation in those words, and traces of sadness in Kurumi's eyes.

Rinne was blind and deaf if she didn't understand that. Her friend wanted to know why she wished for the failure of the one thing Kurumi desired most.

Normally Kurumi wouldn't even question herself. She had her personal reason to hate the First Spirit, and if her goal could bring good to the world, that was just a bonus.

Kurumi also didn't care what other people thought about herself. Their judgments interested her not. Except if it was from Sonogami Rinne.

_"You are not wrong, Kurumi."_

A world with no disaster called the Spacequakes, and with no existences known as Spirits to cause conflicts.

A life of a normal girl, living her life the way she wants it, to enjoy her hobbies, to make use of her talents, to pursue her interests, to fall in love with someone.

Not a life where she was being hunted for existing, and concerned herself about a mysterious past or connection.

Rinne desired it. Even more so than Kurumi, perhaps. Even her desire to understand Shido was part of this wish.

Yes, the strange, familiar feeling when she met Shido made her mad and obsessed, but she also felt like a normal girl with him.

Around him, Rinne felt like she wasn't a supernatural being who could see and play with the fates of all things.

Even though he was not a normal human, even if his past and origin were surrounded by as much mystery as hers,

Shido still lived his normal life, he could still **see** himself as a human.

_"Truly, he is a human capable of wielding Spirit powers."_

Kurumi understood this desire of hers, a yearning for normal life, and had accepted it.

She didn't blame Kurumi for questioning her like this, because to the avenger...

A sincere wish for her giving up was an insult to everything her friend stood for.

But-

"I know. However, there is one thing I couldn't accept about that scenario, Kurumi."

Rinne halted for a moment. This was going to be hard. She had to keep her emotions in check.

Even though she realized it, she could not keep her voice from turning melancholic.

"It's our memories in the new world."

Kurumi widened her eyes. It was clear her friend already understood what she was about to say. But, she had to continue and pour out her feelings.

"If you prevented the First Spirit from existing, then your Zafkiel will no longer be around to protect our memories from the change of timeline. No one will remember about our previous life…"

Rinnne had to stop her voice for a breath. Why was it this hard?

Was admitting her own reasons to her friend and herself so difficult?

 _"Is it because it sounds so selfish… no, it_ _**is** _ _selfish."_

Then, all the more reason to say it…!

"Then you and I won't know each other, Kurumi."

Kurumi looked as if she was slapped by the answer. It was an appropriate reaction. Rinne was well aware of how selfish it was.

She wanted a normal life, but at the same time she didn't want to let go of the relationship that her Spirit life had given her.

" _But that's my wish… is it so wrong? You too, make me feel like I belong somewhere."_

Kurumi was there to help her after she became a Spirit. Kurumi had saved her from despair when she Inversed.

Kurumi could understand how it felt to be trapped in a life you didn't want, and Rinne too, understood her.

How could Rinne forget such a person? How could Rinne **allow** herself to forget?

Rinne would never forgive herself if she simply let go of Kurumi.

"You… am I really that important to you?"

Kurumi was no longer simply surprised. Shock was clearly painted on her face and that audibly bled to her tone.

Yet the question made Rinne frown slightly. Shouldn't that be obvious to both of them by now?

"Yes. What are you talking about?"

"I don't understand. You yearned for a normal life, don't you? I can allow that to happen. You might not find out about your connection with Shido-san, but if history is rewritten, it wouldn't even matter. In the end, the only thing you will lose-"

"Is you."

Kurumi reflexively silenced when Rinne interjected. Probably because of the anger she failed to suppress in her voice.

Rinne didn't mean to sound so offended. But it hurt just saying those words.

"You will have your own life, we won't even remember each other."

Saying those words made Rinne wish she had bitten her lips. It was the scenario she sorely wished to avoid.

"Isn't that a necessary and acceptable consequence?"

Kurumi asked her back, a perplexed expression plastered on her face. But what she said had shocked Rinne even more.

How could Kurumi say something like that so easily?

Forgetting about each other was not the same as parting ways from one another.

Rinne would never accept the former, unless it truly meant the better for **both** of them.

Did her friend really think their bonds were something so insignificant? To be so easily dismissed?

That line of thought snapped something within her.

"You don't know that! What about yourself? Will you be happier forgetting me!?"

Rinne felt her throat hurt from the words she had screamed.

Kurumi took a step back. Silence descended.

…No, she had to calm down. Deep breaths.

Her friend had always felt guilty whenever she got angry. So Rinne had to calm down.

If that was the case, she should go straight to the heart of the problem.

This was something Rinne really didn't want to ask... but she had to know.

"Please… tell me. Will you be happier if you hadn't become a Spirit, and we had never met?"

Rinne had only lived right here, right now, because of Kurumi's actions, and Rinne was grateful for that.

Selfish as she was, Rinne wanted Kurumi to be happy. Her friend's happiness mattered to her more than her own.

If... if Kurumi would get her closure and reached her happiness by achieving what she wanted...

Then Rinne would accept that, even if that meant they would end up forgetting each other.

" _I want you to be happy."_

With that in her mind, Rinne waited for Kurumi's answer.

For some reason, Kurumi avoided her gaze.

"…My feelings don't matter."

The reply was so emotionless, Rinne almost mistook it for a different person.

"What…?"

"Even if I believe my goal is a 'compassion' for this world, it doesn't make me a 'good' person."

Her voice slowly steadied, and her usual confidence returned.

But Rinne still didn't understand. What was Kurumi talking about?

"Therefore, whether or not I am happy in the new world, it doesn't matter. Rinne, even you should not be concerned with me by then."

Kurumi answered resolutely.

That resolution shocked her. What...? Did Kurumi really mean that?

" _What? What do you mean, it doesn't matter!?"_

Rinne felt her teeth grind against each other.

Was this about Kurumi's refusal to be saved? Kurumi's insistence to see herself as a villain?

No... it was Kurumi's belief that the very existence of Spirits were cursed, and everything about them were a mistake.

" _Even in a different world, you still don't want to be saved!?"_

Rinne could see why Kurumi thought that way. She could understand it, even. But she wouldn't accept that.

Every person, every life, deserved happiness in some form. Let alone Kurumi, who was not even close to the monster she painted herself as.

But... Rinne didn't rebuke Kurumi. She couldn't, for she had no right to.

_"It's selfishness too, isn't it?"_

They were similar after all.

Rinne desired a normal life - the life of an ordinary human, but at the same time she did not want to not let go the bonds she forged in her life as a Spirit.

She could only choose one... but she didn't want to let go of either. Her self-centered heart had no resolve to, and even used Shido as an excuse to distract herself, to make her forget about choosing, all for her own convenience.

It made her feel disgusted at herself.

Kurumi desired to erase her regrets and exact her vengeance. But in truth, she simply didn't want to accept the consequences of her existence.

Both the bad - the lives Kurumi had claimed for her own gain; the pain and misery she caused for both others and herself; all the guilt, the anger, and the hatred she harbored for the reality which built her life.

And the good - the people whom Kurumi had helped, indirect as it might be; the people whom Kurumi grew to care and even treasure, such as Rinne herself and Shido; all the sincere gratitude and genuine joy in the life she thought was cursed.

Kurumi didn't want to live with those. Good or bad, she wanted to believe all of those were mistaken. Thus she devoted everything to undo the past.

They were different, but both of them were absurd. It was hypocritical for her to try and call Kurumi out on it.

...That's right. Rinne was already aware of this.

_"Why am I this surprised..."_

Had she been in denial this entire time?

_"Is it because I am afraid if it is true...?"_

But, even if that was the case. Even if this was being hypocritical for her.

Even so, Rinne wasn't going to let it end like this. For Kurumi.

"If that's what you think, I understand."

Steeling her mind and resolve, she unflinchingly retorted her reply and leaped off the water tank she was sitting on; she landed on her feet and stood at Kurumi's level.

Aggressively walking toward her friend, Rinne stared her down, which prompted Kurumi to instinctively take a step back in reflex and caution.

"Ara? Rinne, what are you-"

Kurumi stopped herself as Rinne grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, their eyes mere centimetres apart.

"Don't be afraid. I am not angry, or anything."

Rinne smiled. She was echoing Kurumi's earlier statement during the beginning of the conversation on purpose.

Kurumi was visibly unnerved. That was understandable, she supposed.

Both of them knew each other well enough to know what they would agree and disagree on.

Thus, Rinne decided to voice her feelings once again.

"I just want you to know something."

"...What is it?"

"I don't care if we are different, I am still your partner."

Rinne noticed Kurumi's eyes widened a bit.

"I know that both of us are stubborn and selfish, so I want you to remember: there are people who will not give up on you."

"…!"

Kurumi's mouth gaped, she was so stunned the girl forgot to breathe.

That reaction disappointed Rinne.

_"You really don't know that you matter so much for me, huh...?"_

Still, Rinne held back her feelings. They had things to do, anything else could wait until then.

As Kurumi stood there frozen, she walked past her friend.

"Let's go, Kurumi. We have a Realizer to acquire, and a Spirit to rescue."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And… that's it! Before you want to comment though, there is something I want you to know in regards to the Date A Live lore. Since it's about time for Kurumi, Rinne, and Rio (through Shido) to battle after the "Interluding Date" chapters. So for that, let me get some things straight:
> 
> First, the Light Novels have stated repeatedly about Sephira Crystals, Spirit Mana/Reiryoku, and their effects. But, little explanation is given about how they work, and how they relate.
> 
> We all know that Sephira Crystals continuously produce Reiryoku for Spirits. A Spirit can only run out of mana if they overuse their powers, which causes some detrimental effects to their bodies as well (when Miku's mana ran low in Volume 7, she was unable to even speak normally, and Kurumi implies that she will die if she uses up hers).
> 
> But if this is true, there is an oddity. Why Kurumi needs to drain lifespan from others to recover her own power? Shouldn't her Crystal be able to recover it for her?
> 
> For a long time, I am under the impression that lifespan and Spirit mana are two different things, and Kurumi's time powers need the former while her shadow powers need the latter. This would explain the oddity.
> 
> However, Volume 10 proves this wrong, since Kurumi states clearly that she needs mana from Origami to send her five years prior, and that sending things to 30 years ago would take enough energy to use up a Spirit's life. This suggests that human's lifespan and a Spirit's Reiryoku are interchangable, if not actually equivalent.
> 
> So why Kurumi's Crystal doesn't seem to work for Kurumi? There are two possible answers I could come up with:
> 
> 1) Kurumi's Crystal is an exception to the rule, meaning it couldn't produce its own Reiryoku, or;
> 
> 2) Zafkiel's time powers need so much power that her Crystal's recovery rate can't keep up with the consumption rate, meaning Kurumi will often find herself running out of power in an extended fight.
> 
> From these two possibilities, I choose the latter for my fanfiction. This is probably canon anyway, but I hope this clears things up.
> 
> Secondly, I believe that the ability to attain Reiryoku from an external source is not unique to Kurumi. I believe that other Spirits are capable of that as well, although more than likely with a different way. We have several indications for this:
> 
> 1) Yoshino's power creates ice beams and blizzards by absorbing nearby water (it's not just anime visual effect, the novels confirm it too).
> 
> 2) When Kurumi talked about herself consuming humans, she said "The relationship between humans and Spirits, is just like this you know." This implies that not just her, some other Spirits can probably do the same thing.
> 
> 3) When Natsumi traps people inside her mirror dimension (which works similarly to Kurumi's shadow, by the way) she can dissolve people inside.
> 
> 4) Finally, Origami also manipulates surrounding light particles for her beam spamming.
> 
> All of this suggests that, all Spirits can gain power from external sources. This theory will be true in my fanfiction.
> 
> Each Spirit would have a different source of 'food', which is determined by their elements. For example, Yoshino can gain Reiryoku by absorbing nearby water source. Kotori would do the same with flames, Yamai with wind and lightning, Miku with the surrounding voices and music, Origami with the surrounding light, and so forth.
> 
> Kurumi technically follows this rule, she consumes people's "time." And even for Spirits with unclear elements such as Tohka, Natsumi, Nia and Mukuro, this still holds true:
> 
> 1) Tohka's Sandalphon seems to manipulate natural forces. Those things are everywhere (remember gravity?) for her to absorb, which may explain why we have never seen Tohka worrying about her reserves.
> 
> 2) Natsumi can absorb people to her Haniel because they are part of her element (materials with shape and form).
> 
> 3) Nia's Rasiel actually seems to be powered by imaginations and fantasy, judging from Beelzebub's ability with fiction. Again, it explains why Nia can use her Angel freely without much fuss (although, Westcott's five years of torture seem to have taken a toll on her reserves, which makes her weaker than Kurumi by the time of volume 13)
> 
> 4) Mukuro can manipulate the very fabric of reality with Michael, which might explain why she is freakishly overpowered (she draws power from dimensions themselves, which is literally everywhere)
> 
> Needless to say, the two original Angels I made (for Rinne and Mayuri) shall follow this rule too. Although how it applies, will be shown later.
> 
> And that's it! Sorry to drag this on for so long. State your opinion about the chapter and my theories in the comments!
> 
> Thank you for following "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	13. Interluding Date, Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salutations! Let's get to chapter 13 already, shall we? "Interluding Date, Part III"

For the umpteenth time this morning, Miku shifted in her bed.

"..."

The diva had lost count of the number of sheeps she had counted since the moment she tried to sleep. Miku didn't even know how many hours had passed since she took a bath and changed into her nightgown near the midnight.

She had to get some rest. While as an idol Miku was quite used to physically straining schedule, she had been stalking two people throughout a mall for hours, all while carrying her not-so-small amount of purchased items and clothes, which was not exactly a walk in the park.

Worse, the ones she stalked were Spirits willing to kill her- and Miku would be lying if she said that she wasn't afraid. In fact, she was terrified so much that she felt like running away. The stress had weighed on her, and she was very tired, in body and in mind.

But-

" _Shido-san…"_

The diva couldn't even stop thinking about the man who lapsed into a coma before her very eyes.

Was he alright? Kotori had ordered for her and the others to rest, but how could Miku do that? Shido could be dying for all she knew, how could she sleep peacefully like nothing happened?

" _Is it because of me?"_

The reason Shido was even there that night was because of her request. Miku knew how determined Shido was about saving Spirits, and he had failed only once, with Tokisaki Kurumi.

Although the diva was skeptical that any Spirit could reject her darling forever, his failure honestly didn't annoy her, as crazy as that sounded. When Shido was unable to do something by himself, that was when Miku and the others could help him.

Miku also had a score to settle with Kurumi. The Nightmare Spirit had helped Shido to save her from herself. As much as Miku disliked that fact, it was the truth. So the diva promised herself, she would return the favor.

" _But what have I done…?"_

Far from helping Shido, Miku brought him pain instead.

Kotori and the Ratatoskr couldn't identify the cause of his coma, but for some reason, Miku felt it wouldn't have happened if she didn't ask Shido to come with her.

What had she done to Shido? What had she done to the others, by hurting him?

The guilt felt like a knife stabbing her heart.

"I…"

Miku whispered, to no one in particular.

All of a sudden, Miku felt a vibration under her soft, large pillow.

"Eh?"

Her mind was tired but she was wide awake, and she knew from the short vibration, it was a message to her phone.

" _Who could it be?"_

She brushed her negative thoughts aside as her hand reached for her phone.

Pressing a button to turn on the display screen, it displayed herself and Shido as its background picture, a single unread message, and that it was 7.37 A.M.

" _So it's already morning, huh…"_

Deciding that trying to sleep was pretty much pointless at this time, Miku rose into a sitting position while rubbing her eyes. After a moment, she opened the message.

It was from Tobiichi Origami.

'A Spacequake alert has been triggered, please come out from your mansion. We are waiting for you in a car. After you join us, we will leave to hide from DEM.' The message read.

The diva squinted her eyes.

" _A Spacequake?"_

Miku was awake all night, and yet she didn't hear anything.

" _Perhaps that meant the Spacequake didn't appear within this city block?"_

However, it was no use thinking about it. Miku had to be quick, considering that she lived separately from the other Spirits, everyone should have been picked up already.

" _I should not trouble the others more than I already did…"_

With that in mind, Miku threw away her blanket to the side and quickly went to her wardrobe.

* * *

In a few minutes, Miku was already in her casuals. Since they were going to the Ratatoskr's secret base, she figured she didn't need to bring much, so she just carried a purse with her for her phone and her wallet.

As she walked of her house, Miku could already see a car parked outside of her fence. The window of its driver seat was open, allowing her to see who sat in the front row.

Takamiya Mana was the driver, while Origami sat next to her. They seemed to have noticed her, as the white haired girl gestured her head to come.

Miku took a deep breath. Her fence was electronic and remotely controlled from inside the house, and she had already timed it to close in a minute. If she wasn't quick, she would waste more time.

" _Set… go!"_

Much to Miku's own surprise, despite feeling tired, her body felt light. She was able to run through her fence and reached the car long before the fence closed.

" _Probably because my Spirit power is returning…"_ Miku noted. Her mood was very, very bad after all.

She kept her mouth from frowning, and greeted her driver.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"No problem. Get in, Izayoi-san!" Mana replied.

Miku nodded. As she opened the car's door, she noticed that almost everyone were inside the car already… although, in a surprising condition.

In the middle row, the Yamai sisters were still clad in their pajamas, their eyes barely awake, and their hairs weren't even tied in their usual braids yet. Even with their differently colored clothes -pink and light blue- Miku still found it difficult to tell which one was which.

Miku's guilt grew in the back of her mind. Did they get a rest at all last night?

"Yo, Diva."

"Greeting. Good morning, Miku."

Contrary to what their looks suggested though, they sounded as fine as usual. Miku smiled a little at that while taking her seat behind Mana, next to Yuzuru.

Mentally noting that the one clad in pink was Kaguya and in light blue was Yuzuru, Miku greeted.

"Good morning, Kaguya-chan, Yuzuru-chan."

After greeting, she heard soft snores from behind her seat. Curious, Miku turned around to see the back row seat.

Tohka, Yoshino, and Natsumi were all sleeping and clad in their nightgowns, as well. The bigger girl were behind Kaguya, holding a large pillow, while the smaller girls were leaning on each other. Natsumi was behind Yuzuru, while Yoshino was behind Miku.

The diva noticed the dark bags unders their eyes, and in Natsumi's, there were tears flowing down her cheek, falling down into her and Yoshino's clothes.

Miku immediately looked away. She couldn't stand seeing her friends cry, even in their sleep. More so when she felt responsible for it.

" _I'm sorry…"_

The diva tried her hardest not to cry. She took a deep breath, and cast her gaze downward at her feet.

"Izayoi Miku."

She almost jumped at the monotone call of her name, courtesy of Origami.

Turning her gaze into the white haired Spirit, Miku noticed that Origami were staring at her, probably the whole time since she entered the car.

"Origami-san…?"

"If you are blaming yourself for what's happening, I advise you to stop."

The diva's mouth gaped in surprise. Did she just read her mind? Was Origami an ESP?

" _No, that's not it."_ Her rationale quickly kicked in. Anyone would be able to tell, just by looking at her. And Origami was not a mere 'anyone'

Miku sighed. The former AST soldier was very perceptive, so she might as well be honest with her.

"It **is** my fault, Origami-san."

The Spirit of Sounds was surprised with the amount of self-loath she felt from her own voice, and even the half-awake Yuzuru next to her flinched at her tone.

Origami however, didn't even change her blank expression.

"Shido will disagree with you, so I won't let you think like that."

At the mention of his name, Miku's attention, as well as the Yamai sisters' next to her, were immediately focused at the white haired Spirit.

Origami was not wrong- Shido would never blame Miku for any of this, even if she was the indirect cause of his coma.

However, Origami shouldn't say that. She was not Shido, she didn't have any right to say that. They didn't even know whether Shido was alright or not-

A realization struck Miku as her mind connected the dots.

" _Coult it be… Shido-san has recovered?"_

"What are you trying to imply, Origami-san?"

Miku tried to suppress how hopeful she sounded. However, Origami merely smiled, as if she detected the emotion behind her question.

Probably because she knew, her next sentence would break Miku's composure.

"Your 'Darling'… he is awake, and as healthy as ever."

* * *

Silence ruled over the city.

Because of the Spacequake alarm that went off nearly an hour ago around Raizen High, this part of Tenguu City was immediately emptied as its citizens hid within the shelters.

Using this to their advantage. 'Kurumi' led Shido to the other end of the city block, the Tenguu Square, where the original Kurumi and Rinne were waiting. It was also where Kotori would send Ratatoskr's equivalent of reinforcements.

Kotori was skeptical over their choice of rendezvous location, since that part of the town was an open space with not much buildings around -meaning AST and DEM were at an advantage- but 'Kurumi' assured them that it would not be a problem.

Shido had a vague idea as of why did 'Kurumi' choose that place, though. It held a special meaning for her. After all, it was where they last celebrated Tanabata together, and also where they parted their ways.

Although it seemed 'Kurumi of that day' returned because the original Kurumi recreated her on purpose this time, judging by how she carried herself during the deal a few minutes ago, it was disturbingly like the real Nightmare Spirit. Shido was slightly upset by that fact, but he didn't show it.

As the Square was empty, it was a far cry from the last time he was there. However, the feelings of nostalgia made Shido feel goosebumps. Standing in the middle of the Square, he couldn't help but voice his thoughts.

"This place… it's been awhile."

"Do you miss this place too, Shido-san?"

'Kurumi', who stood to his right, tilted her head to meet his gaze.

"Yeah. It's not as lively as before, but I don't dislike it."

"Really? So Shido-san likes it when he is isolated, alone together, and free to do anything with his girl?"

He processed that for a moment.

Then, after realizing just how wrong that sounded and that he **was** in that kind of situation with 'Kurumi' right now, Shido's cheeks became redder against his will.

Struggling to maintain his composure, he made a fake cough before he answered.

"N-no. I mean, we used to celebrate Tanabata here before, right? It was a good memory to me… and to be here with you again feels pleasant."

The goth girl smiled at his words, prompting Shido to smile in return. However, just as 'Kurumi' was about to speak-

"What! You celebrated Tanabata with this woman before!? When?!"

From the communicator in his ears, Kotori yelled loud enough for Shido to visibly wince in pain, causing Kurumi to pause.

"Ara?"

"Ouch, Kotori! You don't need to be so loud!"

The Itsuka brother replied in an irritated tone, prompting the sister to huff in annoyance, clearly waiting for his explanation. It was not nice of her, but he really couldn't blame his sister.

Shido had not told anyone about what happened in last year's Tanabata, about her meeting with 'Kurumi', and how she was murdered by her original a second time.

He didn't even tell Kotori about the contents of the Tanzaku he risked himself to hang at the top of the tree, since his sister had dismissed it as a childish tendency.

" _Note to self: I would have to explain things to Kotori and Reine, later."_

"Sorry I didn't tell you before, Kotori. I went with Kurumi for a date last year, during the Tanabata Festival."

He heard Kotori clicked her tongue, before she continued.

"And why didn't I know about this before? Do you have any reason to hide it?"

A rush of guilt hurt his conscience, but Shido continued to speak.

"The circumstances were complicated…"

"Really now." Kotori sounded skeptical. "Well, that can wait. By the way, ask that clone over there, where is her original and her partner?"

Shido frowned slightly at the way Kotori referred to 'Kurumi' as a mere clone, but he decided it was not worth it and turned to the girl in question.

"Kurumi, where are they?"

"Hum…"

The goth girl turned to look around. Shido followed suit.

As empty as the streets might look, the AST or DEM could be hiding around. The possibility of their location being found this quick was low due to Shido and 'Kurumi' demolishing every DEM mechs they encountered, but the chance was still there.

They didn't see anyone beside themselves, however.

"Strange… Rinne should be able to convince her by now…" 'Kurumi' said under her breath.

"Eh?" Shido raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

He didn't receive an answer, as a voice interjected.

"She already did, [Me]."

Shido widened his eyes as he recognized the distant voice.

Turning his back, Shido saw a familiar figure walking at his direction, with the exact same appearance as the girl next to him, the [Elohim] Astral Dress.

"Kurumi…" Shido muttered.

Instinctively, Shido moved in front of the 'Kurumi' next to him. The Spirit mana around his body became restless, as if alerted by a threat's presence.

Gazing into his eyes as if she could read his mind, Kurumi smirked.

"Your power… it's amazing. Protective of my past self, aren't you Shido-san?"

The real Nightmare Spirit spoke with a condescending tone, clearly directed at her duplicate behind him.

"I have no intention to let you murder her again, Kurumi."

Shido narrowed his eyes and declared his intention.

He pretended not to hear the happy squeal that 'Kurumi' let out behind him and the questioning 'hmm?' Kotori uttered from his communicator. Shido couldn't get his guard down, not when the Spirit of Time was before him.

However, contrary to what Shido expected, Kurumi sighed with a helpless expression.

"Nor do I have any intention of murdering her, Shido-san, I am just playing around. Rinne will be mad at me if I did that, anyway."

"Huh?"

The Itsuka siblings' confusion were muttered simultaneously, although Kurumi only heard Shido's.

The Nightmare sighed once more in response and pointed a thumb to behind herself, as if she was pointing at something.

Confused at Kurumi's gesture, Shido raised a brow.

"What are you…"

He paused himself as a very small flicker of light suddenly appeared right behind Kurumi's head. Before Shido could get a comprehension of what it was though, it disappeared.

" _What was that?"_ Shido thought.

In the next moment, his question was immediately answered.

"Ah, Kurumi. You are spoiling the surprise…"

Shido nearly gasped in surprise as he heard another voice, this time he couldn't recognize.

All of a sudden, Shido could see that color was literally drained of the space behind Kurumi, before numerous masses of light dissolved away into nothingness, revealing a familiar figure.

She was clad in a purple dress and headdress, as well as having braids that approached her legs. Even though Shido didn't saw her face, he immediately recognized who was it.

"Rinne…?"

" _Mama?"_

Much to the surprise of Shido and Rio -who had been listening silently within his mind since earlier- the Ruler Spirit appeared behind Nightmare, tilting her head slightly to send them a crimson gaze that pierced even the veil on her face.

"Good morning, Itsuka Shido."

Rinne greeted him with a calm, almost formal tone. Shido however, tensed at her mere presence, for reasons he couldn't tell.

"W-where did you come from?" Shido nearly stuttered.

"Ah, you mean the trick I did just now?" Rinne asked back.

The crimson light coming from beyond Rinne's veil seemed to glow brighter, much to Shido's horror. He had to consciously stop himself from gasping.

"It's a secret."

Rinne crossed her arms playfully. Under the veil, Shido assumed she was probably chuckling. The gesture was supposed to be adorable, but it really didn't help Shido to calm down at all.

" _Come on, pull youself together…"_ Shido thought to himself.

His rational thought told him he shouldn't be afraid of Rinne. However, the fact that she had the same appearance as the person who killed him in his vision last night was not a pleasant thought, at the very least.

And with her presence, Shido felt like his nervousness had been triggered due to his fear. His breaths became faster, and the thought of running away suddenly crossed his mind.

However-

" _Papa."_

" _Eh?"_

In the midst of his panic, Rio mentally called Shido with a very soft tone. It felt very vivid, as if someone whispered to his ears.

" _Don't be afraid. Mama is a very kind person, she won't do that."_

All of a sudden, Shido could feel something -or perhaps, someone- was holding his right hand tightly.

" _Papa shouldn't be afraid of Mama!"_

The invisible hand that clasped his within it seemed to lift his spirits. Shido was sure no one was touching him- and yet the comforting feeling he had could only be described as that.

His fear didn't disappear, but he had calmed down.

" _...Thank you, Rio."_

" _Rio is always here for Papa."_

Shido could almost feel the mental smile Rio gave him in return. If his 'daughter' was giving him this much, then he couldn't disappoint her.

Steeling his resolve, Shido whispered to the communicator in his ears to contact his sister.

"Kotori, may I call Rio right now?"

"Hah? For what purpose?"

The commander asked back with a surprised, questioning tone. Shido was honestly not expecting that, didn't she already know why?

"You know that she wants to talk with her 'mother,' right?"

"Oh… right."

Kotori seemed to sink into a deeper thought for a moment. Knowing her, Shido knew she was weighing the risk and the benefit of letting Rio met Rinne.

Shido just hoped his sister would allow it. Although he had no idea what that could cause them in the long run, it just felt right to allow a 'daughter' to meet her 'mother'

After a few moments, she finally gave the answer he wanted.

"It may be dangerous to inform them about Rio… but we are too deep in danger now anyway. I will permit it."

"Understood. Thank you, Kotori."

And with that, Shido closed his eyes as the enormous amount of Spirit mana that flowed around his body slowly accumulated into a shape he could comprehend, a human figure.

His eyes were mesmerized, as slowly but surely the incorporeal energy materialize and became corporeal.

In a few moments, a little girl clad in her red-golden dress and robe manifested mid-air to his right. She shook her head around to prevent her long, plum-colored hair from covering her face and vision.

"A-re?"

"Ara?"

The two Spirits before him were caught off-guard at the sight of the [Irregular] Spirit materializing before their very eyes, just like Shido was before. Rinne in particular took a few steps closer, as if she wanted to get a better look at Rio.

Rio's Astral Dress were overflowing with power, completely different with how she manifested before. The Spirit mana filled the atmosphere between them, and even Shido could almost feel it with his skin.

As Rio landed on her feet, Shido half-expected his 'daughter' to forget all sense of personal space and approached Rinne, but it seemed that he was mistaken.

The little Spirit stayed by his side, and held Shido's hand with hers, while smiling to the two people ahead of them.

"Good morning, Mama, Kurumin!"

To their credit, Rinne and Kurumi kept their surprise limited to their expressions, and in the Ruler's case Shido couldn't even tell whether she was actually surprised.

Their voices however, suggested otherwise.

"Ma, Mama? Why am I…?"

"Kurumin?"

Rinne sounded very perplexed at the fact that she was called 'Mama' while Kurumi seemed slightly offended at being called 'Kurumin'. However, before any of them could recover from the shock, the 'other Kurumi' behind Shido spoke.

"Shido-san, who is this?"

Not forgetting that 'Kurumi' was there, Shido turned his head to answer her. "Uh… it's very complicated-"

He was cut off by a cheerful squeal.

"Rio is Papa's and Mama's daughter, nice to meet you, Kurumin!"

The little Spirit let his hand go and twirled her body around and smiled at 'Kurumi' as Rio gave her usual explanation. Shido wanted to sigh, but he found himself smiling instead.

For her part, 'Kurumi' didn't seem to be convinced by Rio's words, however.

"Daughter?" She raised a brow. "You don't mean that in the literal sense, aren't you?"

"Rio means it!" Rio shook her head. "Papa gave birth to me with Mama, so Rio is their daughter!"

Shido supposed that this 'Kurumi' seemed to struggle making sense of that, judging from the contemplative frown on her face. He chuckled at how his 'daughter' managed to confuse her, before turning to Ruler and Nightmare.

"Let me introduce her. Her name is Rio, and she is… uh, a Spirit born from me?"

Shido wanted to explain more than that, but his head was still wrapping around the concept that he could actually create a Spirit out of his powers.

Kurumi seemed to be able to understand his words however, as a wicked grin formed itself on her face.

"I see. So this little Spirit is the one regulating your powers… right, Shido-san?"

"A-ah, yeah."

For some reason, Shido's instincts were alarmed at the tone Kurumi was using.

"Um… why does she call me Mama? Why am I her mother?"

Rinne still sounded amazed, which was rather uncharacteristic of her as far as Shido knew. Although he could hardly blame her for that.

"Uhh, as for that… I don't know, either."

Shido rubbed his head, because he really didn't know. He had wanted to ask Rio, but she had been so hyperactive since the morning that he couldn't ask about the topic.

"Ehee hee…"

The Irregular Spirit let out a cute, yet enigmatic giggle. Shido took a glance next to him at Rio as she turned again to face her 'mother'.

"Mama is Rio's Mama because Papa misses her so much!"

As Rio answered cheerfully, it took a moment for all the audience to process what she said.

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

Both Shido and Rinne uttered at the same time in surprise. Meanwhile, the Kurumis, if they were surprised, didn't seem to show it.

" _I… miss her?"_

The statement sounded ridiculous to Shido. He had just met Rinne yesterday, Shido couldn't possibly miss anyone whom he didn't even know before.

However, Shido wasn't exactly confident in his rational thoughts recently, especially not with Rinne, and definitely not with Rio. For all he knew, he might…

" _I… might have met Rinne before…"_

As he was deep in thought, however, Rinne seemed to voice her thoughts.

"W-what do you mean by that?"

Her expression was hidden behind her veil, but for some reason Shido was able to tell that Rinne was… embarrassed?

"Um? Rio means it. Papa misses Mama so much, Papa created Rio!"

Rio's powers seemed to react to those words, and the Spirit mana that saturated the atmosphere seemed to shift as if agreeing with her.

If Shido could feel it, he was sure the other people present -Rinne, and the two Kurumis- were able to tell it.

"I… see…"

Shido felt that Rinne wasn't convinced, but before she could say anything, Rio spoke once more.

"Nee, Mama. Rio wants to ask Mama about something."

"Me? What do you want to ask?"

"Rio is curious about-"

The little Spirit stopped herself as all of a sudden Rio's Spirit mana shifted sharply, startling all the people present.

Their density seemed to suddenly rise, and Shido felt it was harder to move his body through the thick mana saturation.

"R-Rio…?" Shido became concerned.

As Shido took a glance to Rio next to him, he saw that Rio silently turned her gaze upwards into the sky, as if something attracted her attention.

"What is that?" Rio asked with a curious tone.

"That? Where?" Shido followed Rio's gaze.

In a few moments, roughly 6 stories above the ground, a large aircraft -a helicopter- slowly appeared out of thin air, much to Shido's surprise.

" _No, not that…"_

Shido corrected himself. It didn't appear out of thin air, the helicopter was revealing itself, probably disabling its invisible wall made of Realizers.

The helicopter was larger than any helicopter Shido had ever seen. It was probably nearly 20 meters wide and more than 40 meters long, as well as equipped with both main and tail rotor blades. Despite the speed at which the rotors spun, there was no noise at all- definitely the effects of the translucent [Territory] surrounding it.

"Ara? A transport helicopter?"

"Shido, does it belong to the Ratatoskr?"

The Nightmare and Ruler immediately asked him for confirmation, which prompted Shido whispered to the communicator in his ears.

"Kotori, is it the reinforcements you are sending us?"

"Yeah, it is. Prepare yourself! Kannazuki is about to open the door."

As if responding to Kotori's commands, the automatic door at the left side of the aircraft slowly opened itself, revealing a tall, blonde man clad a white suit and trousers, who were in a military salute posture.

Shido knew who he was. Kannazuki Kyouhei, Kotori's vice-commander in Fraxinus.

"I apologize for the lateness of my arrival." He shouted, and yet the tone and the way he carried himself was calm and professional.

Kurumi -the original one- smirked. "So the Ratatoskr has a stealth transport besides their mothership? It seems I underestimated them."

"You look down on others much too often." Rinne let out a chuckle. "It's impressive, how come they didn't use this before?"

The vice-commander replied. "Although I would like to answer that, it's unrefined to chat outside. Shall we get in?"

"You got that." Shido replied.

Shido turned to Rio, who pouted slightly. It seemed that she really wanted to talk to Rinne, and Kannazuki's interruption were definitely not appreciated.

He wanted to pet his 'daughter's' head and tell her that it was fine, but the little Spirit suddenly shook her head and smiled, before turning to the Ruler Spirit.

"Mama, let's talk later. There are many things Rio wants to talk with Mama!"

Despite the cheerful tone Rio used, Shido could tell there was a hint of… irritation underneath it. Rinne seemed to realize it as well, seeing as she hesitated to reply.

" _Wait. When did I become so thoughtful?"_

Although he disliked it, Shido had to admit that Kotori was not exactly wrong to call him a 'blockhead' since even he knew that he didn't tend to pay attention to details, especially subtle ones.

The fact that he could tell Rio was irritated from her voice alone was quite unusual. Could there be… some sort of bond between them?

" _Does the Spirit pathway between us regulate more than just our Spirit mana?"_

Shido noted that he had to ask Reine that later.

"Ah… if Rio-chan says so."

As Rinne reluctantly complied, Rio nodded her head with a smile before taking Shido's hand once more.

Immediately, Shido could feel Rio's mana flowed into him, and suddenly he felt his body becoming very light. Gravity once again didn't affect him.

And with that, all the people on the ground flew their ways into the helicopter, and the door closed.

* * *

Inside the chopper, it was surprisingly spacious. The walls were painted similarly to the walls of Fraxinus rooms, and there was a large, circular table in the middle of the room. With the thirteen chairs surrounding it, it gave the impression of the Round Table.

There was a door with a large window, likely leading to the cockpit of the aircraft. There was another, windowless door at the opposite end of the room, which gave the impression of a dead end, despite being a door.

"Welcome, to Ratatoskr's stealth infiltration aircraft unit, [Hrasvelgr]."

Kannazuki made a bow as he greeted the five guests, Shido, Rio, Rinne, and the two Kurumis. The first two appeared fascinated, while the other three appeared more wary than impressed.

"Although Shido-kun is aware of my identity, I believe I haven't met the four of you in person. It's a pleasure to meet you Spirits, I am Kannazuki Kyouhei, vice-commander of the Fraxinus."

At this, the real Nightmare Spirit smirked at the blonde, her intentions clear.

"Ara, aren't you the polite one. Unlike your commander."

Shido could hear an offended gasp from the communicator in his ears. Fortunately, the Ruler Spirit decided to interject.

"Kurumi, that's enough already. Thank you for accepting our offer and providing us with your assistance, Ratatoskr."

"That being said… [Cassiel]."

Invoking her Angel's name, a small portal made of darkness appeared before the Ruler, and she inserted her hand into it.

Rinne then drew out a purple lyre, and as soon as it was pulled out completely, its ten strings reached out and became much longer, surrounding her, and the two Kurumis next to her.

It was familiar for Shido, who saw it before when he first saw Rinne yesterday on the school rooftop.

"Please forgive me for being on-guard. My Angel will tear any Territory trying to entrap us, so don't bother trying."

The Ruler's tone was even, but the threat behind it was clear. Shido could feel chills ran down his spine, and even Rio next to him looked worried.

Kannazuki however, didn't even change his expression and kept his smile.

"We won't do such a thing. Now, would you please take a seat?"

The vice-commander gestured to the seat. Rinne took a seat first, which prompted 'Kurumi' to sit to her left. The real Kurumi stood behind them both, similar to a bodyguard.

After a moment, Shido decided to take a seat in Rinne's opposition, while Rio sat to his right. After everyone took their respective seats, Kannazuki took a seat next to Shido.

"Now then."

Kannazuki leaned his arms on the table, and clasped his hands under his chin. His calm, brown eyes looked as if they were staring down the three Spirits across the table, which was unusual of him.

Shido could not recall seeing the blonde masochist this serious before, which impressed him.

"Let's begin." The blonde said evenly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! Please drop whatever is in your thoughts about this chapter in the comments!
> 
> Hraesvelgr is named after the eagle residing on the top of Ygg-Drasill, from Norse mythology. I picked it as a name since the Ratatoskr is named after... sort of the squirrel that climbs up and down the World Tree, delivering the message between the eagle and the serpent that chews down the roots of the World Tree, Niohoggr.
> 
> With that said, thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	14. A Glimpse of Eden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Time for the currently longest running arc of the fanfiction - which begins with chapter 14, "A Glimpse of Eden"

"Let's begin. How about we start by confirming the legitimacy of your offer?"

Kannazuki began the meeting with that question.

It was not that Kannazuki doubted the opposition. The vice-commander had thought that it was highly unlikely for Nightmare and Ruler-to be bluffing at this point.

Especially seeing as the Ruler's Angel, [Cassiel] was active.

Because of Rio's presence -as her Spirit mana had flooded the entire room- it was difficult for Kannazuki to precisely determine the thickness of Rinne's mana surrounding the ten strings of her lyre.

However, it was not enough to blind the experienced Wizard's senses. He could tell that as faint as it was, Cassiel's strings possessed enough power to tear apart not just the Territory of [Hrasvelgr], but likely the entire aircraft as well.

And yet, despite the overwhelming advantage they had in an enclosed space of the aircraft, the opposition didn't display any hostile intent. It was probably because of Rio, but that also meant they were willing to go through with their offer.

Still, he went through and asked the question anyway. Being cautious against everything, except in regards to Kotori, was natural for Kannazuki.

_"Yes, I should only drop my guard when I am around the Commander."_

As he waited for a response, his question was replied with a giggle.

It came from the Nightmare Spirit, the one who didn't take a seat and stood behind the Ruler's chair like a bodyguard.

"You are still in doubt about that? It can't be helped then."

Kurumi opened her hands as a flintlock pistol flung itself out of her shadow, and into her hand.

"I'll explain."

Shido -who was sitting next to himself- tensed. However, Kannazuki himself kept his composure. There was no reason to panic, no matter what situation you were in. Much less, a situation where your opposition wouldn't attack you.

Sensing what happened despite not seeing it directly, 'the other Kurumi' who took a seat turned her head to the Kurumi who summoned a gun.

"Ara, you don't mean to…"

"Yes, I do. He doesn't seem to mind all that much, anyway."

And with that said, the gun-wielding Kurumi stared Kannazuki down with a challenging grin.

"As Shido-san might have told you, the [Tenth Bullet] of my [Zafkiel] is capable of reading the past of objects it has pierced. Therefore, gathering information is relatively easy."

Kurumi touched her lips as she paused. The Nightmare obviously enjoyed what she was about to say.

"I shoot a Wizard, then I know about their branches. I shoot a superior officer, then I know about their secrets and more important branches."

As she explained with glee, Kurumi pointed the gun at Kannazuki's direction.

"I can confirm it here and now by transferring the memories I have received to you. Do you want to give it a shot?"

"I don't mind, so long as it can confirm your stance in your offer."

Kannazuki replied easily.

Shido glanced at him with some anxiety, but Kannazuki paid no heed. Seeing this, Kurumi let out an amused snicker.

"Hihihi. No hesitation at all? What confidence… I don't dislike that."

The Nightmare Spirit moved around the circular table, slowly approaching Kannazuki. As soon as she could reach him, Kurumi gently put her hand on his shoulder, and put her gun on top of it.

As their eyes met, Kannazuki gave Kurumi an aside glance, while she seemed to be evaluating him with her eyes.

It was then followed by a grin. The Nightmare seemed satisfied with what she saw.

"Zafkiel, Yod."

That instant, Kannazuki felt… something **alien** just assaulted his mind.

For a moment, just an instant, Kannazuki felt like he was a different person. The memory of someone he didn't know suddenly became one of his own.

It came from the Spirit next to him, of course.

"This is…"

The first thing he could see within the memory was the numerous blood red lights that glowed brightly in the midst of darkness.

_"Are we all gathered, yet?"_

It was followed by a familiar voice.

_"Ten, eleven, twelve… okay. All thirteen one of us has gathered."_

Listening to the phantasmal conversation in his head, Kannazuki realized that the glowing red orbs were the eyes of Kurumi's clones. That meant this memory too, belonged to one of them.

As he paid attention to the surroundings, it seemed that they were on the deck of a large ship- they had infiltrated a harbor in the middle of night.

_"Rinne said that it is East from here, right?"_

_"Yes. This will probably take hours. Brace yourself, [Mes]!"_

Not too long after, he could hear several identical voices saying something along those lines.

Then one by one, including the one whose memories were shared to Kannazuki, the gothic girls leaped off the ship, and into the waters below.

The suicidal action only made Kannazuki more aware that this memory truly didn't belong to an ordinary human. Even as he -or rather, this Kurumi clone- hit the body of water, he couldn't feel any kind of unpleasant sensation.

It seemed that the Astral Dress really served to protect the Spirit's body from everything.

_"Mobilize!"_

As one of the Kurumis shouted, he felt a sensation as though gravity suddenly didn't affect his body. Soon after, all the Kurumis used their flight powers underwater, all going to the same direction.

It was a very long journey. Kannazuki felt like the group of Kurumis were under the sea for over two hours.

And yet, it was only a memory. The passaged of time seemed like an instant, and by the end of it all-

_"There it was!"_

The clones popped their heads out of the water. And then, Kannazuki could see an island -very small, due to the distance- at the horizon.

It looked like a natural island. However, neither Kannazuki's senses or the Kurumis were fooled. The invisible Territory surrounding the island was clear to them.

_"Hmm… is that the [Cage of Judgment], where [Material B] is imprisoned?"_

_"It doesn't look well-defended. Could Rinne be mistaken?"_

_"No, the DEM isn't so stupid as to surround their branches with obvious weapons. Well then, what should we do, [Mes]?"_

_"Our original and Rinne will invade this place tomorrow. So we have to give them the sense of direction, no?"_

All of a sudden, all of the Kurumis around him suddenly turned their heads to look at him. Kannazuki's instincts was immediately alerted, even though he knew that this was just a memory.

Probably because all of them was looking at him with a devious smile. Maybe because their blood red eyes were glaring at him with murderous intent.

Or perhaps, it was both of them.

Then- he could feel a cold sensation at the back of his head.

Kannazuki was caught off-guard. Could it be, they-

_"Sorry, [Me]. We don't have time for a rock-paper-scissors~"_

It was the last words he heard from the memory, as it ended abruptly with the sound of a trigger being pulled.

"...!"

Regaining his normal senses, Kannazuki opened his eyes, only to see that he was still in the room. Reflexively, his hand reached for the back of his head, as if it was hurt.

"This is…"

His head was intact, of course. Otherwise he wouldn't have been alive. And Kannazuki was not the one getting shot, it was the Kurumi in the memory.

Yet… he couldn't help but do that out of reflex.

"Ara ara."

Seeing his reaction, the Nightmare Spirit -who still stood right next to him- snickered, not hiding her amusement at all.

"Not counting Rinne, you are the first to ever receive a memory of mine, Kannazuki Kyouhei. How does it feel?"

Kurumi asked with a condescending tone. It was obvious that her question was less curiousity and more of a mockery.

That being said, the memory was informative. It did give him the feel of the direction to where this [Cage] was.

"It was fascinating. The branch is called [Cage of Judgment]… is it? Thank you for the confirmation."

Kannazuki spoke calmly in return. Kurumi's grin grew even wider at that, before she turned around and moved back to her original position behind Rinne.

He expected her to continue the discussion, but it was the 'other Kurumi' who spoke in her place.

"Now that we have given you confirmation **and** the direction, what else do you want to confirm before we begin the strategy discussion, Ratatoskr?"

The vice-commander leaned on his chair and crossed his arms, keeping his expression neutral as he prepared to answer.

"Nothing more. Now that we know the location, we shall formulate an invasion strategy."

Kannazuki paused himself, as his eyes gauged the reaction of the Spirits across the table.

The 'Kurumi' who was sitting down widened her eyes slightly, but only for an instant. Meanwhile, the Kurumi who transferred her memory still kept her smile on her face. For Rinne, her expression was unreadable underneath the veil.

It seemed that one of them didn't expect Kannazuki to change topics and agree with them so soon. This meant that they were prepared to argue, and didn't trust the Ratatoskr.

_"Nightmare and Ruler certainly know how to handle a negotiation…"_

Keeping this in his mind, Kannazuki decided to continue.

"Since you intend to do this invasion with or without our assistance, are we correct to assume that you already have a strategy planned?"

To his surprise, the three Spirits across the table nodded their heads in perfect sync. Then, the Ruler Spirit -who had been silent since the start of discussion- finally spoke.

"Indeed, we have. It would be easier if Kurumi just shared her memory about the strategy we devised, but that way you won't be satisfied, I suppose?"

Rinne said calmly as she pointed her finger to the wall around them, as if saying that 'the walls had ears'

Kannazuki narrowed his eyes slightly.

These two Spirits were clearly aware that other members of the Ratatoskr and the Fraxinus needed to know about their strategy, as it surely had hints about their abilities.

_"Considering their intelligence, they could easily come up with some fake plan on the spot, and it won't even count as a lie."_

However, Kannazuki had to give them the benefit of doubt. He had no choice but to trust whatever they would say from this point on.

"Yes. Please elaborate."

* * *

"We are here."

Origami let out a sigh at Mana's words.

Indeed, their car had finally entered the basement of the Ratatoskr's warehouse. However, it had taken much longer than expected, nearly fourty minutes if she estimated correctly.

Still, Origami couldn't complain. It was not that Takamiya Mana was an unskilled driver and had to drive slowly -on the contrary, even- but they had to take a complex route to avoid surveillance by the AST and DEM.

Ratatoskr didn't own every security cameras in the city, so this was necessary.

Still, it took longer than Origami would like. At this rate, Shido certainly had departed to deal with whoever Spirit had summoned the Spacequake, be it Nightmare, Ruler, or someone else.

Origami felt bad for the other passengers in the car. When she had said that Shido had recovered, they certainly look forward to seeing him in person.

Especially-

"Unseal the gate or else I shall break it with force!"

"Demand. Please unlock the car."

"Mana-san, please!"

…If they were this excited.

Even Origami found it hard not to smile at the naked emotions that the other awake Spirits -the Yamai twins and Izayoi Miku- had been displaying since she dropped the news about Shido's recovery earlier.

Of course, Origami too was looking forward to see Shido again. But there was no need to be too excited about it when he was busy, no?

She didn't say that, though. Good mood and excitement would help Itsuka Kotori as well as Shido himself, after all.

In response to Miku's request, Mana turned to Origami.

"Tobiichi-san, you know your way around the base, right? Please lead them on."

"What about those three?"

Origami was referring to the Spirits who were still sleeping in the back of the car- Yoshino, Natsumi, and Yatogami Tohka. Not that she cared much for one of them, but she was sure that all three of them wanted to meet Shido as well.

Mana merely smiled.

"I will wake up the sleepyheads. Go ahead."

"Very well. My thanks."

As Mana unlocked the car's door, the three Spirits in the mid-row immediately went out of the car.

"Come, sister, Diva! Let's go!"

"Scoff. Yuzuru doesn't need Kaguya to remind her."

Miku didn't even pay attention to the exchange between the twins and just straight up ran to the hallway leading to a lift's entrance.

Seeing all of this, Origami sighed as she too exited the car.

"Don't get lost."

Origami was not sure whether the three Spirits ahead of her actually listened to her warning, so she decided to move quicker.

* * *

The Chupa Chups on her mouth was very sweet.

However, Kotori couldn't really enjoy its tastes, as she was in deep thought.

Even though she and her crew were in the hangar where the under-repairs Fraxinus was, everything happening within the Hrasvelgr were directly transmitted here.

On the conrol room, the screen was displaying Shido on one side of a circular table. On the other side, there were Rinne, and two Kurumis.

Rio wasn't around because the discussion was already over, and she had returned within Shido. Kannazuki was also piloting the aircraft, so he had to be in the cockpit.

Honestly, Kotori didn't know what to expect from this meeting at first. Two powerful, enigmatic Spirits had approached them and offered them a Spirit to secure, and a chance to be observed. So, the Commander had expected to be surprised.

But what Nightmare and Ruler had in store of them were almost beyond her expectations.

Their strategy was very simple, but relative to the enemy's strength, it could be very effective. For example, if the target was one of Ratatoskr's facility, it would be taken down for sure.

Kotori shuddered at the thought of these two Spirits tracking down, and destroying the Fraxinus. However, that was not all.

Rio -the [Irregular] Spirit- was dangerous beyond belief.

When Rinne asked Rio to describe what she could do with her powers, the little Spirit had revealed something beyond her wildest imaginations.

 **[Aspect of the Sephiroth]**.

From its name alone, Kotori knew what it meant. She didn't even need Reine's analysis just now to know what it implied.

What Rio had shown them a few minutes ago was just a glimpse of her true power.

Forget about Shido when he went berserk, Rio could singlehandedly annihilate millions of people, even without calling forth a Spacequake, if she wanted to. Simply because she could command the immense power contained within her 'father'

It was unbelievable that she could carry so much power and her body didn't begin to overheat like Shido did. And yet, that was the fact of the matter.

_"Is it because her body is made from Spirit mana itself?"_

If Reine's previous check on Rio was correct, then that would be the reason. So long as her mental state was stable, her powers would never go out of control.

The Commander made a mental note to observe the Irregular Spirit's behavior more closely from now on. They needed that for future plans.

As Kotori was thinking however, she heard the automatic door of the control room opened.

"Eh?"

"Ah, it's you girls."

Kotori let out a confused sound as four beautiful young girls entered the room, while Reine welcomed them.

Of course, the Commander knew them all -they were Origami, Kaguya, Yuzuru and Miku- Spirits whom Shido had sealed, and the Ratatoskr had secured. The reason why Kotori was surprised was not their arrival.

But rather, their appearance and state. Origami was clad in Raizen High's winter uniform; the Yamai sisters were still in their pajamas -and with their hairs down, they now truly looked identical- one in pink and one in blue; only Miku was wearing something casual, with her dark purple dress.

"What the… Kaguya, Yuzuru! Why are you dressed like that?"

The twins merely glanced at each other for a moment, before returning their gaze on Kotori.

"As soon as we heard from the White Devil that our Prince has awoken, we ran here as fast as the wind itself to see him."

"Translation. We heard from Master Origami that Shido has recovered from his coma. We want to see him."

Kotori smiled a bit at that.

_"It seems that they are not that upset…"_

The Commander was honestly pretty anxious when Shido collapsed last night. Not just for her brother, but for the other Spirits.

Without a doubt, they were all worried about him. However, she couldn't allow the other Spirits to push themselves too much- hence why Kotori ordered them all to go back while Shido was handled here.

Everyone in the Fraxinus was busy with the task of repairing the ship. Therefore, they couldn't watch over the other Spirits' mood levels consistently. Even now, they had to stop working as they had to watch over Shido and Kannazuki.

So, Kotori hoped it was the correct decision to send them back to home.

_"But they certainly had missed Shido, in more ways than one."_

"Look at that."

Kotori then pointed her Chupa Chups at the screen with Shido, Rinne, and Kurumi in it. As she did so, the eyes of the four Spirit guests were immediately glued to the screen.

Kotori gauged their reactions. Seeing Shido on the screen, the Yamai sisters looked positively happy, and Miku's eyes grew wide, clearly shocked. Meanwhile, Origami didn't change her expression.

Kaguya was the first to comment. "Humph. So it was them, eh? Did those two summon you for a Round Table Meeting?"

"Curious. Where are they?" Yuzuru, being the sharper twin, quickly asked what was not obvious.

"They are within one of our stealth aircraft, Hraesvelgr. And Kaguya, you are right. Kurumi was the one who alerted the Spacequake alarm to call us for a deal."

Origami narrowed her eyes slightly. "Deal, huh? Ruler already made Shido promise to date her… what more could she want?"

Kotori could sense the agitation in Origami's voice. To be honest, she was right… but Shido had already made her promise about that too.

"She wants to-"

"Hik"

Suddenly, a strange sound cut her off. Kotori was caught off-guard and stopped speaking, and even the three Spirits she was talking with looked surprised.

Even the other crew members, whose concentration were fixated on the monitor they were working on, also stopped. It seemed that everyone was able to recognize what sound it was, and whom it belonged to.

Miku was crying.

"Thank goodness… I still have a chance… Shido-san is okay…"

Her legs were trembling, she looked barely able to stand. Her voice was also very faint, nothing more than a hoarse whisper.

She was also not looking anywhere but down, allowing her hair to cast a shadow over her eyes. However, the tears flowing down to her cheeks were not hidden.

Seeing this, Kotori couldn't even express her shock.

Before anyone could say anything, all of a sudden Miku turned around, and ran to the door she came from.

"Wa-wait! Miku!"

Kotori called out to her, but Miku didn't respond. As everyone else was too surprised to react, the diva left the room without impedence.

_"What the- Why did she run away?"_

Kotori forced her brain to think as quick as it could.

Judging from Miku's words, she was not just relieved. Kotori could tell that much, simply from the fact that she didn't call Shido 'darling' like usual.

But Kotori couldn't quite figure out what else Miku meant. It was unclear, due to how weak her voice was.

_"The whisper was too weak… wait. It can't be!"_

Kotori nearly dropped the Chupa Chups in her mouth as a realization struck in. Miku's mental state was unstable, and her Spirit powers were returning.

To be precise, her [Gabriel]'s [Solo], the [voice] that could compel absolute obedience. Miku ran away because she didn't want to affect the people in this room with her crying voice, which would carry similar -if less stable- effect.

She couldn't be left alone now. Someone had to calm her down.

Kotori wanted to be the one to do so, but she had no way to counter Miku's Solo. She needed something to neutralize sounds.

The Commander turned to her crew.

"All of you! Do you have any noise-filters for your ears?!"

The crews were startled by her panicked voice, but judging from their lack of reply, no one seemed to have it.

Fortunately for them, one person did reply to Kotori.

"I do."

Kotori was almost relieved that it was Reine who answered her. She could be trusted with this task.

The Commander really wanted to thank the analyst now, but that could wait. There was no time.

"Please, follow her. Her powers are unstable."

"Understood."

Reine didn't waste any time as she quickly moved to the door and exited the room.

As she saw the analyst left, Kotori let out a sigh as she leaned on her chair.

_"Kuh. What correct decision? I am a cruel Commander."_

The Commander didn't even need to guess how did Miku become unstable. It was obvious that she didn't take Shido's coma well.

And Kotori's order for them to return certainly had made it worse.

In hindsight, Kotori should have seen it coming… Miku was the one who instigated the reckless operation last night, so it was possible for her to blame herself for Shido's condition.

_"I didn't think it would go that far, though… I am so stupid!"_

The redhead glanced at the three Spirits who remained in the room -Kaguya, Yuzuru, Origami- the first two looked uneasy, as if not knowing how to react to the scene. Origami looked troubled, but not as obvious.

Kotori could pretty much guess what they were thinking from that.

"That was because of my ridiculous order, wasn't it? Do you blame me?"

Two of them flinched at Kotori's very blunt question.

Not surprisingly, it was the Yamai sisters who did. It was not hard to see that they understood what Kotori meant.

_In fact, it would be natural for them to be irritated at me, I suppose…_

Seeing as the twins hesitated to look at her, Kotori took their reactions as a 'yes.' However, Origami shook her head, signifying her rejection.

"It wasn't because of you. And I won't forgive anyone who blames you."

Kotori was slightly surprised at the surprising amount of emotion that could be felt from the usually cold Origami's voice.

That made Kotori a bit uneasy. Whenever Origami spoke like that, that meant she was more than a bit serious.

"It isn't your responsibility to decide what we feel. Shido was hurt, and none of us could prevent it. No matter what you do, all of us were hurt by that fact, including you. There is no need to blame anyone for something that we cannot do anything about."

Origami said so unhesitatingly.

Kotori couldn't hide her surprise from showing on her face.

Not only the firmness was clear on Origami's words, the words itself were very familiar to her ears. It made Kotori's heart felt comfortable, despite herself.

_"Those words… it sounds like something Oni-chan would say…"_

And that stopped all the arguments she was about to say.

Kotori wanted to argue: as a leader, she had responsibility to protect the Spirits Ratatoskr had secured. As the first Spirit who was sealed, she had to consider the feelings of the sealed Spirits who came after her. What was happening to Shido and Miku were marks of her failure.

And yet, Kotori didn't know what to say against Origami's defiance.

"I…"

However, before Kotori could continue, she was cut off by the sound of the automatic door opening once again.

The one who entered was a group of four girls, the same number as before. The eyes of everyone in the room were on them.

"I am sorry for being late!"

The stern voice came from Mana. Behind her, Tohka, Yoshino, and Natsumi entered the room with serious looks on their faces.

"Where is Shido? Mana, you said he is awake already!"

Tohka looked around the room, clearly searching for Shido.

Mana grinned as she glanced at the large screen ahead of them, the one displaying Shido and the two opposition Spirits.

"Uh, Tohka, it's there…"

Natsumi seemed to notice the screen's presence as well, as she pointed her finger to its direction with a giggle. Her gesture prompted Tohka and Yoshino to follow her line of sight.

Not surprisingly, Tohka's eyes practically sparkled and Yoshino smiled happily as soon as they saw Shido's figure on the screen. Kotori let out a sigh of relief at that- at least they were not too upset as well.

However-

"...!"

"T-that is…"

Yoshino closed her mouth with her hand as if to prevent herself from screaming, while Tohka's eyes grew wide as if she just saw something repulsive.

It wasn't overlooked by the other Spirits, of course.

"Hmm? You look like you have seen a ghost. What sort of apparation is scaring you, my kinsmen?"

"Concern. Tohka, Yoshino, you two look pale. May I ask what's wrong?"

"Yoshino? Are you okay?"

The Yamai twins and Natsumi showered the two of them with questions.

"Um… I, I don't know how to put this…"

"N, nothing! We are fine!"

Yoshino seemed to hesitate to answer, while Tohka flat-out denied anything was wrong. The other Spirits didn't look like they believed it, but they didn't press the two of them.

Kotori knew better, however.

It was certainly caused by fear. Recognizing Ruler on the screen certainly triggered their instinctive response.

_"So it was not only Origami and myself… Tohka and Yoshino as well, eh?_

The redhead took mental note of that. That proved that whatever Ruler was using to affect them, it had influenced five of them already.

_"How about the others, I wonder…"_

But answering that question could wait. Kotori could ask all of them later for confirmation, after Shido's mission was over.

As Kotori was deep in thought, Mana seemed to have noticed something else.

"Wait… where is Izayoi-san?"

It was Mana's turn to look around the room.

At that, the Yamai sisters glanced at each other with anxiety, while Origami turned to look at Kotori, apparently expecting the Commander to answer for them.

Kotori wanted to sigh again seeing that, but she stopped herself.

"Miku is with Reine right now. She will be back soon."

She wanted to elaborate more, but there was no need to tell the Spirits something that might upset them now.

Kotori would make sure to make up for her mistakes later though. Origami might try to say otherwise- but she couldn't let it slide. No Commander could make a mistake without being punished for it.

Understanding that Kotori didn't want to say anything more, Mana nodded as she continued.

"I see. May I ask for situation report then? What is Ni-sama doing with Nightmare and Ruler?"

Mana's concern was obvious, and it was clearly shared by every Spirit there. Knowing this, Kotori cleared her throat.

"To put it into basic terms? A deal."

* * *

Shido honestly didn't know what to do.

He wasn't confident with his sense of time, but Shido felt like he had not moved from his seat to do anything for nearly half an hour.

_"What should I do?"_

Kannazuki went to the cockpit to pilot the aircraft to the DEM-controlled island called 'Cage of Judgment,' while Rio returned back within him to conserve her energy for the mission. That left him with no one familiar to speak with, at least physically.

Shido would be content to speak privately with Rio in his mind, but-

_"Papa, why aren't Papa talking with Mama?"_

_"It's… not that easy, Rio."_

Even if her voice was mental, Shido could practically feel that Rio was **excited** for him to talk with Rinne, and she had been trying to encourage him for quite a while now.

It was true that Shido was not alone in the room, there were two Kurumis and Rinne across the table in front of him, and if he wanted to pass the time by chatting, he could simply ask.

The problem was, he was not sure whether the three Spirits in front of him would… like it, if he talked with them.

The 'Kurumi' clone leaned on her chair with her arms crossed and her eyes closed, her expression peaceful as if she was sleeping.

Meanwhile, the real Kurumi had taken a seat to Rinne's right, and the two partners were holding Cassiel -the lyre on Rinne's hand- together.

Shido wasn't sure what the two of them were doing, but Kurumi occasionally… smiled, laughed, and glanced at her friend. Rinne returned the posture each time, although her facial features were hidden.

The two of them appeared to be chatting… somehow.

_"How could they communicate without even making a sound?"_

Shido was curious about that, but more than that, he didn't want to interrupt the two of them if they were chatting privately.

Especially, if the two of them looked so… happy. Shido couldn't see Rinne's face, but from the way Kurumi expressed herself -her genuine smile, her laugh- it was clear that at least one of them was enjoying whatever they were engaged in.

He never thought that Kurumi would ever show that much emotion when with someone. Shido had only ever seen that on 'Kurumi' before, and it changed Shido's opinion of her a bit.

Still, that left Shido with nothing to do and no one to talk with.

_"But Papa, it doesn't have to be like that! Papa is also here, we can all talk together!"_

_"I don't think I can be sure about that. What should I talk about?"_

That seemed to get Rio to think for a moment, as Shido heard a little 'hum' in his head.

_"Rio isn't sure either… maybe ask if Mama and Kurumin really are chatting?"_

_"That's blunt! …But I can't think of any other way."_

Shido was surprised at Rio's lack of subtlety. However, after a moment, he had to admit that it was probably the right way to start.

"Uh, Rinne…?"

"Yes?"

Even though it was only Rinne who answered him, the eyes of all three Spirits there were directed at him, including the 'Kurumi' that was supposed to sleep.

Shido was startled for a moment, but he shrugged it off as he continued.

"Are you and Kurumi… talking to each other?"

The two Spirits in question glanced at each other, before Rinne replied.

"Yes. It isn't obvious for you?"

"No, I mean yes, it **is** obvious, but I don't know how you two do it…"

Shido nervously scratched his cheeks. Seeing this, Rinne and Kurumi once again glanced at each other.

Kurumi followed it up with a smile.

"Ara ara, Shido-san. Are you curious about what are we talking about?"

"Can't say that I am not."

Then, the Nightmare's cheeks turned light pink, and suddenly Shido felt like it was something he didn't want to know.

"A-ah, if it's something private-"

"I don't mind, you know. And Rinne certainly won't mind either…"

Kurumi cut him off, and sent a glance to Rinne next to her, who nodded and turned to Shido.

"I don't mind. We were only talking about our last [date], after all."

"Eh?"

Rinne said that in such a casual tone that Shido believed he had misheard something.

"W, what did you just say?"

"We were talking about our last date."

It took a moment for Shido to process what Rinne just said.

"Eeehhhhhh?!"

Startled, Shido shouted in shock. The two Spirits giggled lightly in response, before speaking to each other.

"It's been a while since we last went into a date, right Kurumi?"

"Fufu. When did you become so bold, Rinne?"

The two spoke as if they were recalling a pleasant memory. Against his will, Shido's cheeks became red, even though it was not related to him.

Shaking, Shido pointed a finger at the two of them back-and-forth. "Y, y, you two went on a date!?"

"That depends on how do you define a [date] of course." Kurumi touched her lips with a finger.

Somehow, that gesture only made Shido's thoughts worse.

Rinne swung her hand to play it off. "Or to be exact, how you word it. Your sister defines a [date] as a [battle], no? Why couldn't we use the same term?"

It was then Shido remembered. Kotori did use that wordplay, the English word [date] was pronounced similarly to one alternate reading of the Kanji for [battle].

That meant, they were not actually dating… but recalling a battle they had before.

As Shido was recalling that fact however, Rinne turned her veiled face to Kurumi.

"Hee hee, you are right, Kurumi. Shido is so easy to tease! I can't believe he could be tricked like that."

"A gentleman knows how to please ladies, after all. However, Shido-san is a special case, this particular gentleman can even please others inadvertently."

"Y, you two…"

Shido wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth silent. If he said anything, these two would probably twist it against him.

But then, there was the sound of an automatic door opening.

"Shido-kun. Also, Tokisaki Kurumi and Sonogami Rinne."

The door behind Shido -the one leading to the cockpit of the aircraft- suddenly opened to reveal Kannazuki walking toward them. That prompted Shido to rise from his chair and turned around to see the blonde.

However, before he could say a thing, the 'Kurumi' clone was the one who responded to him first.

"Ara. Are we there yet?"

"Almost. I request all five- my apologies, all **four** of you to prepare yourself."

Shido raised a brow at the correction Kannazuki made. Counting Rio, there **was** five of them right there, excluding Kannazuki.

_"I wonder why…?"_

_"Maybe Papa's friends are watching Papa? Didn't Papa said that Papa doesn't want to tell the others about Rio yet?"_

_"Oh yeah, I said that. So Kotori also wanted the same…"_

Feeling embarrassment from being remined about it by his own 'daughter,' Shido mentally wanted to kick himself. However, he brushed the thought aside for now.

Shido turned to the three Spirits in the room. Rinne, and two Kurumis.

He wanted to ask if they were ready, but he supposed that it was pointless to ask these two -Nightmare and Ruler Spirits- of all people, that question.

That fact didn't stop him, though.

"Are you ready? Rinne, and both of you?"

The three of them turned to meet his gaze.

The two Kurumis appeared surprised at his question, as if saying 'are you seriously asking us?' with their expression.

Rinne however, seemed to be pleased by his question.

"We are, thank you for your concern, Shido."

Her face was hidden, but Shido didn't need to see through that veil of hers to know that Rinne was smiling.

Smiling, Shido closed his eyes, testing his own resolve.

"Alright…"

_"Rio, are you ready?"_

_"Yes! Let's do this together, Papa!"_

As a tremendous amount of power flowed through his veins, Shido opened his eyes, now with a whitened pupil of a Spirit's.

" **[Aspect of the Sephiroth]! [Throne of Annihilation!]** "

And with that, his Spirit mana filled the room with light.

It gave him a familiar sense of strength, one that he could remember using several times-

* * *

"I wonder… how much longer do [We] have to wait?"

"Be patient, [Me]… you already killed one of [Us] to send her memory yesterday, right? Hold back your bloodlust."

"I know, but shouldn't Rinne and our original have arrived by now?"

"Do you think Ratatoskr will give in that easily to support us? You are all naive…"

And so it went. The exchange between the twelve, once-thirteen Kurumi clones that were sent to observe the Cage of Judgment.

Eleven of them were continuously talking all night near the sea surface, their sounds completely unimpeded by the waters due to their Astral Dress. They were probably trying to erase away the needless emotion called 'boredom'

All except for one, anyway.

_"Humph. These Mes sure are noisy…"_

If she had her way, this Kurumi would have all the other clones alongside her killed.

They were observing one of DEM's most dangerous branch. How could they slack off by pointless chatters? They were ordered to kill another one of them immediately to report to the original if DEM made a suspicious move.

And yet, these eleven were slacking.

_"Bunch of useless past selves… I would be happy to trade away these eleven for the Spirit who is locked there."_

Cage of Judgment.

As it name implied, it was designed to be the ultimate Cage for the DEM, designed to hold Spirits.

Constructed on an island in Pacific, it was similar in both purpose and design to the [Neryl Island], where Kurumi once invaded, to try and meet the Second Spirit, bearer of Rasiel… Honjou Nia.

It had two main difference, however.

First was, it was rumored to contain various top-secret projects that most DEM officers didn't even know the details about. Since her original used her Zafkiel to investigate, that meant it was no false memories, although the rumor itself could be fabricated.

_"What kind of surprise is waiting for us there, I wonder? Is it related to the 'big plan' Westcott is having?"_

This Kurumi was curious, especially as she recalled Rinne's information she gave when she arrived in Tenguu City yesterday. However, she couldn't let that curiosity compromise her mission.

The second difference was, it was heavily defended.

It was obvious, simply from the giant Territory that surrounded the island, that was continuously active for 24 hours straight. There should be a large amount of solid defenses that couldn't be easily overrun with just numbers.

_"Well… not like my original or Rinne could ever be stopped by anything."_

Plus, there was Ratatoskr to help them. This battle was as good as won already. Still, slacking off, until victory was certain, couldn't be tolerated.

Still, that thought made her even more curious. How would Ratatoskr help them?

Fraxinus was damaged, so they couldn't help with that. Maybe they could use the satellite cannon they utilized against Shido, but it was unlikely for them to use such trump cards, since using it against the DEM meant revealing their ace in the hole against their rival company.

_"So the only choices left are helping us with Spirit power… hum?"_

Suddenly, all twelve of the Kurumis became silent. They sensed something in the distance, at the direction of the DEM Island.

After several moments of silence, they recognized it.

"This feeling…"

"This is a sign of Spirit."

"...From above the Island?"

"Let's get a closer look!"

With a single command, the twelve swam to the direction of the Island near the horizon.

As they went close enough, they immediately identified what the source of the Spirit sign was.

"That is!"

"Ara. Quite a surprise."

"Wow. Our original brought someone interesting!"

So they said. Some of them remained calm, some were pleasantly surprised, some were shocked.

It was because, they could see two people floating above the Territory of Cage of Judgment -yes, people- and the two people were someone they could recognize.

It was their original self, and-

"Yatogami… Tohka?"

* * *

Shido was shocked.

His body, his mind, his mana, his **everything** \- all felt different.

For an instant, when he shouted the name of the ability Rio demonstrated earlier- he felt like his body was reconfigured.

Not just transformed; it felt different to Natsumi's transformation ability. The change on his body, the change on his mind, all felt very vivid.

Because… it felt like Tohka.

Tohka's presence, Tohka's power- even Tohka's feelings. He felt like he had infused with all of those, like he had owned them himself.

When he opened his eyes, he realized why, he felt all of those.

"..."

Shido looked down on his body.

Gone was the body of a male high-schooler, the body he had was now a girl's.

'He' was clad in a strange dress that 'he' recognized. As 'he' examined 'his' body and moved 'his' head around, 'he' could feel 'his' long hair flowing behind 'his' back.

Yes, [Shido] was now [Tohka], complete with her Astral Dress, [Adonai Melek].

Strangely, 'he' didn't feel embarrassed. 'He' didn't even feel that any of this was unnatural. It felt like 'he' was supposed to be in this form.

"So this is how it feels…"

Even 'his' voice was hers, now.

_"Do you feel anything unpleasant, Papa?"_

Only Rio's voice was the same before and after his transformation. Shido couldn't help but smile at that.

_"Not at all, my daughter."_

As 'he' mentally answered Rio, the other people in the room spoke.

"...Impressive."

"Hihihi, how magnificent, Shido-san."

"How are you feeling with all that power, Shido?"

Kannazuki complimented him with hand claps, while Kurumi and Rinne sounded amused and awestruck respectively, seeing his current state.

Usually, Shido would thank them for such compliments. He would even tell them to praise Rio, instead. However-

"Is that so?"

…Shido could feel that he was not talking like himself.

Kannazuki didn't seem to pay attention to the way he acted, and opened the door of Hraesvelgr with a press of button on a remote in his hand.

"The Cage is just down there. Stop your descent as soon as you walked out of the helicopter. Don't forget about the plan, and here are the communicators for both of you."

Kannazuki handed Kurumi and Rinne the communicator he already had. Seeing this, the now raven-haired Spirit decided to exit the aircraft through the opened door.

Shido didn't feel any fear of falling at all- as soon as his feet could no longer step on something, he felt his power automatically acting up to keep him mid-air.

Yes, it was the feeling of a Spirit's power.

Then, Shido turned his sights to gaze upon on the land below him.

He was floating above a large island- more specifically, Shido was right above the Territory that surrounded the island like a dome.

The dome that was supposed to make the island invisible meant nothing for Shido's eyes now- it was a beautiful-looking island with nothing but forests and a beach that surrounded the island like a ring.

Seeing all of this, he smiled.

"Tohka… so this is how you view the world…"

"Shall we start, Shido-san?"

Behind him, Kurumi too stepped out of the invisible aircraft, and levitated herself a few meters away from Shido. For bystanders, she looked like she had appeared out of thin air- but he knew better.

Shido's thoughts told him to answer as he usually did, but for some reason, there was some other thought who told him not to reply like that.

It felt like hostility- the hostility Tohka had against Kurumi. It was not a strong one, but it felt… quite unpleasant for Shido.

In the end, all he could say was-

"Don't get in my way, Kurumi."

The Nightmare Spirit appeared surprised for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by a devious grin.

"Ara ara. Is that so? Then, show me your strength, [Tohka-san]."

Shido wanted to say that it was not [his name], but his mind told him otherwise. Not knowing what to do, he simply didn't reply.

Mentally worried, Shido asked Rio in his mind.

_"Is this how it is supposed to work, Rio?"_

_"Yes it is. Rio wants to apologize to Papa… but Papa's thoughts will be influenced from now on."_

Shido was a bit frightened that his mind would be influenced by something, but at the same time, he wasn't.

In this moment, [Shido] truly felt [Tohka] within him.

"Very well then-"

Shido answered both Kurumi and Rio at the same time with a single sentence, while calling out to his power.

"[Sandalphon] (Throne of Annihilation)!"

That instant, his -or rather, Tohka's- Spirit mana concentrated in his right hand, into the form of an Angel that he had grown used to, both as himself before… and he was now.

A wide blade glowing with light. With a handguard with intricate designs.

Usually Tohka pulled her sword from a throne she summoned, but Shido was able to summon it directly in his hand before. Now, he simply did what he had done as [Itsuka Shido], as [Yatogami Tohka].

Wielding the large sword as if it was as light as a feather, Shido raised Sandalphon high into the sky, and stared down his target with a piercing look that didn't belong to him, but rather the tyrannous king that sat on the Throne of Annihilation.

"Kurumi… prepare yourself. I am going to carve open your path."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
> 
> And as always… thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	15. An Image of Material B

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salutations! Here is the next part - chapter 15, "An Image of Material B"

"HAAAAAA!"

Tohka's battle cry echoed through the air as Shido swung [Sandalphon] down into the dome-shaped [Territory] that caged the [Cage of Judgment].

The instant the sword made contact, the invisible wall was cracked open like it was made of glass. In the next moment, the shattered pieces of the Territory had faded out of existence.

With a single strike, Sandalphon had made a large hole in the dome, large enough for [Hraesvelgr] itself to pass through.

Shido knew this was not caused by the Territory's weakness; it was Tohka's massive strength that was simply too overwhelming for the defensive wall.

"Splendid, Tohka-san. Thank you for the path you have opened~"

The alluring voice of the Nightmare Spirit was heard from the communicator as the Spirit flew past him and through the hole.

"Huh."

[Shido] really felt uncomfortable when Kurumi called him by [that name]. But, the consciousness of [Tohka] inside him also made it feel… normal. The contradiction didn't make sense, but that was exactly what he was feeling.

" _What am I now? Am I Itsuka Shido? Or, am I Yatogami Tohka?"_

" _Don't worry! Papa is Papa. But, Rio can't deny that Papa is not being Papa completely right now…"_

As his 'daughter' lowered her mental voice in embarrassment, Shido couldn't help but mentally smile at how Rio managed to contradict herself.

His mind felt like a mess. Two identities were inside his mind now -three if he counted Rio, but she was consciously separate from the other two- one belonged to himself, the other belonged to Tohka.

It was confusing, but slowly Shido began to understand. When he consciously exerted effort, this body was his own to control. Shido could tell by now, probably because his mind had 'adapted' of sorts to the essence of someone else.

When he was not focused though, the body moved and acted on its own- with Tohka's thoughts as its guide. Just now while he was not paying attention, Tohka had already expressed her hostility and distrust against Kurumi.

" _If that's how it works…"_

Shido let out a breath, calming his thoughts down.

"…"

The human with Spirit powers emptied his mind, allowing the [Princess] Spirit's thoughts and instincts to fill him.

Not even a few seconds had passed when Shido could sense Tohka influencing him. As if she already knew what to do, the Princess Spirit flew through the massive hole on the Territory dome to catch up with Kurumi.

Inside the dome, Tohka quickly spotted Kurumi. The gothic Spirit was flying straight upon the ground, far below her own altitude.

"...Hm?"

The Princess narrowed her eyes as she noticed that dozens of mechanical-looking holes suddenly opened on the surface of the ground, widespread across the forest.

Soon after, numerous missiles were launched out of them into the air, going after Kurumi.

Anti-air missiles installation. Shido recalled Kannazuki naming them as such during their strategy discussion earlier.

Tohka could never remember the complicated name though, she only remembered it because it was the most frequent projectiles she had ever seen.

"Why can't they ever learn…"

Tohka muttered to herself with a frown as the Spirit quickly stopped mid-air, and prepared Sandalphon with both of her hands at her side.

Charging the Angel with mana, Tohka aimed carefully so as to avoid hitting Kurumi from above, before a whisper escaped her mouth.

"Don't get hit, Kurumi."

Hearing the warning through the communicator, Kurumi immediately came to a halt and turned her body to gaze back on the Spirit above her.

Tohka quickly swung Sandalphon through the air with a large arc and released a large amount of glowing purple waves past Kurumi. The attack sliced most of the missiles in half, causing them to explode before getting anywhere to harm the Nightmare Spirit.

Eyeing the explosion below her, Kurumi shrugged.

"Fufufu… worried about hitting me? You have incredible power and unparalelled finesse, but no confidence in your own strength?"

Tohka frowned at the mocking tone that Kurumi used. Wasn't she grateful at all?

"I don't want to accidentally hurt you, okay? Be thankful a little!"

"Oh, I am thankful. There is no need to question my gratitude to you, Tohka-san."

Unable to discern whether it was sarcasm or genuine from the cheerful tone, Tohka resisted the urge to frown even more than she already did.

Dropping the conversation, the Nightmare Spirit comfortably descended upon an area of the surface ground that was not covered by the trees.

The moment her feet touched the ground, Kurumi's shadow grew in size and her body slowly sunk into the pool of darkness made from her powers.

"Just as planned, I will search underground for any hidden facilities."

Tohka nodded silently as Kurumi phased into the ground, disappearing along with her shadow.

" _Good luck, Kurumi."_

Watching from inside his mind, Shido mentally wished for Kurumi's safety.

Soon after the Nightmare Spirit disappeared, Tohka turned their shared gaze from the ground where Kurumi phased into to the vast forest that filled the island as far as the eye could see.

It really was a large island. The Princess Spirit was in a lower altitude than earlier when outside the dome, so her current view of the island had extended to reach the horizon.

"..."

However, both Shido and Tohka were aware that it was no time to let their guards down. Familiar presences could be felt from the forest below them.

They were humanoid robotic dolls with oversized arms, legs that were the reverse of human anatomy, and equipped with Combat Realizers. Called the [Bandersnatches], four or five dozens of them were crawling out from the missile launchers, and flew upwards to gain altitude.

"Those again…"

Recognizing them, Tohka readied the sword in her right hand-

"Disappear!"

-and **killed the distance** between her and the Bandersnatches below her.

In an instant, Tohka vertically bisected the first doll she approached. The movement was so fast that it produced a shockwave that devastated the forest around them. The trees and the dolls in its radius were either completely destroyed or blown away.

The Princess then turned around and swung her Sandalphon at the other group of dolls behind her, but they reacted quick enough to break their formation into two smaller groups to avoid the slash.

Tohka frowned.

"Persistent."

The two separate groups then moved through the air to flank Tohka from her left and right respectively, before returning fire with the laser cannons on their bodies.

Closing her eyes, Tohka dodged the storm of lasers by kicking the air below her feet, propelling her back into the sky high.

It was then, Shido decided to stop sitting at the back of his mind.

" _I suppose it's time to put Kannazuki-san's tips into use…"_

The vice-commander of Ratatoskr told him that the intelligence of these dolls were not very bright as their reactions to attacks were predictable. Even someone like Shido, who was not very experienced in combat, should be able to outsmart them.

With that in mind, Shido gripped the Angelic Sword in his right hand tight as he took over.

"How about this!

Shido pointed Sandalphon to the land below him as once again mana filled the blade.

He quickly swung the sword four times in a row; aiming not at the dolls but at the forest surrounding them.

The purple waves released from Sandalphon instantly demolished the trees, and the resulting explosions that surrounded the dolls caused them to react by clustering back together.

Not missing this chance, Shido quickly dropped his altitude to close the distance.

"I got you!"

As soon as he was close enough, Shido directed his left hand at his targets.

He then produced Tohka's signature barrier, but with a different purpose; instead of surrounding himself, the resulting mana dome surrounded the dolls.

It was an offensive use of the barrier Tohka usually used; Shido recalled that back when they first met, the Princess used this to stop and destroy a bunch of missiles mid-air. He simply copied the technique and spent more power into it.

Despite the protection their Territories had, the movements of the dolls stopped immediately once Shido's barrier surrounded them, as if they were held by invisible hands.

Shido proceeded to squeeze his hand shut, and simultaneously the barrier compressed the dolls inside of it with immense force. Their Territories immediately cracked, and even their bodies crumped with a metallic crunch before violently exploding.

"Phew…"

As he watched the Bandersnatches exploded into oblivion, Shido let out a sigh as he turned his sights into the surrounding forest once again, particularly the missile launchers.

It seemed that the DEM didn't expect their first squadron to be annihilated as quickly as it was, as there was no immediate follow-up attack.

Shido let out a relaxed sigh. He was acutely aware othat he was closer to the ground now, and thus more vulnerable to surprise attack, but for some reason he didn't mind that at all.

Maybe it was because Shido really didn't fear an attack at all.

" _I should use this as a chance for communication…"_

"Kannazuki-san. How are the others?"

Although it came out a bit more stern -as expected of Tohka's voice- than he intended to, Shido got the message across.

"Hmm. I suppose it's time for a status report."

Shido agreed with Kannazuki on that regard.

"Fine by me.

"I understand."

"Hihihi, sure."

Rinne and Kurumi seemed just as relaxed as himself, if their casual tones were any indication.

Shido decided to begin the report.

"I have destroyed DEM's first line of defense, currently on guard."

"I see. Next."

"Ruler reporting. I am currently still in the process of destroying the underwater Realizers that empower the island's barrier. I estimate I will be done in four to five more minutes as I'm circling the island."

"A little longer than planned, but that's fine. Next."

"Nightmare here. The DEM facility is indeed located underground, two miles under the surface of the island, to be exact."

"Just as predicted. Your status?"

"I have called my [City of Devouring Time] and spread my clones to attack as many locations as possible. However, the word 'underground facility' isn't fit to describe this place."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"This is no mere facility. It's a fortress with the size of a small city. I must say that I didn't expect it to be this massive."

Kurumi's tone seemed to be more impressed than annoyed.

Shido was baffled by the comment.

" _Fortress? And city-sized, at that?"_

How did DEM manage to build something of that size underground? And in a small island in the middle of ocean, at that?

"I see… I assume you are unable to stop the DEM from retaliating to our invasion?"

"Regretfully, yes."

It was a shame, indeed. If the facility was too large for Kurumi's City of Devouring Time to cover, then the DEM could respond.

" _Well… I suppose I really have to fight my way through."_

Shido steeled his resolve. He really didn't want to fight if he could, but this was to save the Spirit that was locked in this island courtesy of DEM.

And to save her, Shido would do **anything**.

As Shido was mentally preparing himself, Kannazuki let out a sigh.

"Then, we have no choice but to press our assault. Shido-kun, prepare for a switch."

"Heh, about time."

"Understood."

Kurumi let out a chuckle while Shido nodded in understanding.

He observed his surroundings once again. It seemed that there was little time left- he could sense the presence of more Bandersnatches from the forest.

Who proceeded to fire their laser cannons at him from behind.

"Che."

Tohka's thoughts instantly took over his body; the Princess Spirit reacted by gracefully twirling mid-air into her left, dodging the laser fire completely.

She then immediately retaliated by swinging her left arm -fully engulfed with mana- and sent a streak of purple light back at the dolls, destroying them along with several trees.

" _That… was close…"_

Realizing that the time for idle chat was over, Shido focused his thoughts once again to take control of his body.

" _Rio, you know who to change into next, right?"_

" _Of course, Papa!"_

His confidence in their combined strength grew.

But before he could transform, something had to be done. Shido needed to distract those dolls.

"If that's the case, I will-!"

Shido deactivated the Spirit's flight power and landed on the ground through the trees, before focusing mana on his feet.

"Sandalphon!"

Stomping one of his feet into the ground, Shido called out the name of Tohka's Angel, but he wasn't referring to the sword in his hand.

Responding to his summon, the ground below him rose and a large throne appeared from there.

"[Halvanhelev] (Sword of the End)!"

He then called it.

The true form of Sandalphon, Tohka's most powerful sword.

Several cracks appeared on the throne, before it shattered to countless pieces- the fragments then merged together with the sword in his hand, and formed a gigantic blade.

Its sheer size made it seem impossible to lift, let alone wield. However with Tohka's strength- Shido lightly shook the sword a bit.

Immense ammount of Spirit mana could be felt gathering within the massive sword, to a point where even the robotic enemy dolls seemed to sense it and decided to scatter away, as if aware of the imminient terror that would come upon them.

Shido paid them no heed as he kicked the ground and flew up straight into the sky, before slowly lifting up the massive sword over his head.

"Begone!"

Shouting with Tohka's grace and power, Shido swung down the Sword of the End upon the land.

* * *

"Kotori, what is the meaning of this?"

In the control room of Fraxinus, Tohka finally called out Kotori's name with a demanding -and confused- tone.

"How could Shido use my [Halvanhelev]? What is happening to Shido?"

It was the first time Kotori ever heard Tohka sounded so surprised. The disbelief in her tone and expression was so obvious that Kotori wanted to take photo of it..

The screen was displaying the ongoing battle in the Cage of Judgment through the several flying camera units that Kannazuki controlled from the Hraesvelgr. The cameras followed all three Spirits on their side, Shido, Kurumi, and Rinne.

Although from the moment Shido transformed, Mana and the other Spirits had been focusing on the Spirit he had become.

" _Probably because of the disturbingly Tohka-like behavior that he is displaying."_

Kotori hoped that they would simply assume Shido was simply using [Witch of Forgery (Haniel)] to copy Tohka's appearance and Angel. That wouldn't need her to explain anything.

But Shido's usage of Halvanhelev sealed the deal- someone finally questioned her, and it was Tohka, the one who probably deserved an explanation the most.

" _What a fine mess…"_

It was not that Kotori wanted to hide things from them… but the Commander wasn't sure that would be a good idea.

Kotori had just explained to them a few minutes ago about the deal Ratatoskr established with Nightmare and Ruler, and the ridiculous request from the two of them had shocked the Spirits bad enough.

While most of the sealed Spirits thankfully didn't really mind risking themselves to meet them, three Spirits in particular didn't seem to take the news well.

" _And far worse than I expected."_

Tohka nearly shrieked in terror and Yoshino looked like she was about to cry. Even Origami paled when Kotori informed them that they all were going to meet Kurumi and Rinne face-to-face, later.

It was rather obvious why. The Ruler Spirit- Sonogami Rinne, certainly caused this one way or another.

Seeing this, Kotori didn't want to risk their stability further by explaining about Shido's newfound powers- which would inevitably bring Rio to the topic, who was very similar -in terms of appearance, at least- to Rinne. The [Irregular] Spirit should be hidden until later.

With all of these in mind, Kotori cleared her throat.

"I am sorry, Tohka. But I don't really understand what is happening to Shido, either. We discovered that Shido suddenly have an unusually high control over his mana this morning, after he woke up."

"What?!"

"Is he overheating again!?

Kotori's answer made Mana and the Spirits tense up in alarm. They were reminded of the **disaster** that happened to Shido a few months ago.

The Commander wanted to kick herself- she should have worded that better.

"No, not like that. Our Spirit Paths remain normal, which is the abnormal thing. During the previous case, our Spirit Paths shrunk, and so the mana flow stopped on Shido."

Kotori paused to look into the faces of the others. Most of them looked surprised, and were paying attention to her without asking what she meant.

The Commander took that as a sign to continue.

"However, this time, the mana flow stopped without any change observed in our Spirit Paths. It also doesn't cause any damage on his body."

Kotori tried to explain that as simple as possible without giving away the true cause of the phenomenon.

The mana flow actually stopped on Shido because Rio could direct the Spirit mana. It also didn't cause any damage on Shido's body because the tremendous amount of mana was stored in Rio instead- but the others didn't need to know that yet.

At this explanation, Origami frowned.

"Wait. So you sent Shido off without full knowledge of his current condition? And into a battle at that?"

Origami said that with a unexpectedly venomous tone. She was clearly upset that Ratatoskr would allow him do such a reckless thing. But Kotori was prepared for the accusation.

However, before the redhead could say anything-

"No, that's understandable. It's something that I would do, if I was in Ni-sama's position, as well."

Mana suddenly interjected to defend her, surprising Kotori. The blue-haired girl then continued.

"Nightmare and Ruler offered us a Spirit to rescue. That's something Ni-sama won't pass up, even if he has to grind his body into dust for it. I am sure he said something about taking advantage of his current condition, right?"

As gentle brown orbs met fiery red, Kotori had to admit that Mana was thoroughly correct.

No matter how much Kotori would like to say otherwise, Shido wanted to save this captured Spirit.

And this time, Kotori couldn't even say that it was stupid for him to be reckless- since Rio was there to back him up, and she was more than powerful enough to protect him.

Kotori smiled, despite herself.

"Yes, that is right. He said that he couldn't possibly pass up an opportunity like this."

Hearing Kotori's answer, Origami appeared unsatisfied, but she kept silent.

"But… Shido-san will be fine, right?"

It was Yoshino who asked.

Her voice was soft like usual, but Kotori could almost taste the concern in her voice. The little girl was clearly worried for Shido, more so than the others.

Kotori couldn't help but smile sympathetically at Yoshino, but before the Commander could even speak, she was once again interrupted.

"Shido will be fine. No need to worry!"

Tohka smiled confidently as she made the declaration, prompting not just Yoshino but the others to turn their attention to her as well.

"Shido isn't alone fighting there. We are his strength. We are always protecting him. Right now, he is the safest he is ever be."

Tohka said that with such a calm and assuring tone, almost like she was before Shido sealed her.

That surprised everyone present, Kotori included. Nobody expected the normally bubbly and airheaded girl to be that confident, and her words felt powerful as a result.

"...You are right. There is no need to worry about him."

Kotori smiled as she turned her gaze back to the screen.

Shido had unleashed Halvanhelev to the land, and it was followed by a massive explosion of pure power that wiped out the forest within the radius of roughly two or three kilometers around the Spirit, perhaps more.

The after-wind of the attack had kicked up massive amounts of dust into the air and over the forest, limiting the vision of the flying camera units that were recording the scene. Kotori couldn't even find the position of the Spirit that caused all of this.

" _Where is Shido?"_

* * *

"Phew…"

Shido honestly didn't expect his attack to be **this** destructive.

Floating a few meters above the ruined land that was caused by the final form of Sandalphon, Shido was honestly speechless.

" _I wanted a distraction… but it seems that I overdid it."_

Shido recalled how Inverse Tohka used her version of Halvanhelev, and annihilated more than a city block.

Shido couldn't really tell if the regular Tohka's version was any weaker- as far as he could see, the land was totally devastated, and he couldn't even see that far because of the dust storm that his attack had caused.

" _So this is what a Spirit can do if they ever pull out all the stops…"_

The sheer amount of destruction caused Shido to mentally shiver. It reminded him of that day- 10th of April last year. The ruined scenery around was probably what Tenguu City would have become if he didn't stop Tohka that day.

For some reason, Tohka's consciousness was calm as their shared body moved to destroy. That frightened Shido slightly, but then again, she was probably used to seeing this.

He shook his head to brush the thought aside. Shido had no time to be mesmerized now. It was time to switch into [her]…

" _Let's do this again, Rio!"_

" _Rio is always ready, anytime!"_

The immense power locked within him were shaken. As if it was waiting to be released, light enveloped his body.

" **[Aspect of the Sephiroth]** , **[Army-Breaking Songstress]**!"

The familiar sense of reconfiguration returned. Both his body and his mind felt like they were rewritten at its very core, something that Shido knew he wouldn't get used to feeling anytime soon.

All that felt like Tohka within him were gone.

But once again- he felt like someone else.

Maybe because it was the second time Shido went through this, but now he could sense the 'changes' in him more vividly than before.

Tohka's presence inside him before was… pleasant, despite the confusion it initially caused. How could he describe it? It felt like Tohka. Warm, energetic, and welcoming.

But now, it was slightly different; it was also warm and energetic, but it wasn't exactly welcoming- rather, it felt tempting and alluring, as if trying to entice him into drowning into it.

It definitely felt like Miku.

As he opened his eyes, Shido unconsciously turned his head down to check his new form.

A tall, long-haired girl with a voluptous figure, clad in a dazzling dress in yellow, blue and white.

Shido would normally be shocked half to death if his body transformed into someone like this- but just like before, it only felt natural.

So much, that Miku's thoughts immediately surfaced against his will.

"Ah~ I like this feeling! I can't believe I have darling's body all for myself!"

Speaking with an alluring, sing-song voice that definitely belonged to a singer, the indigo-haired Spirit proceeded to hold herself in excitement.

Shido quickly focused his thoughts, and stopped the Spirit from making any other embarrassing statement.

" _Wow. I never expected her to comment about that."_

" _Hee hee, Papa's friends are strange!"_

It seemed that Miku felt really pleased by this. The reason Tohka didn't manage to comment before was probably because Shido was a lot more focused during his first transformation, and that she was busy fighting.

Shido became worried- Miku's powers didn't need much thinking on the fly, so he thought he could sit back and allow the Diva to let loose. But recalling Miku's personality, he was more than a bit hesitant.

" _Ah! I shouldn't be stopped by something like this!"_

It was a little setback, but he didn't have much time to stand idly and think about it. Miku could embarrass him all she wanted now; for now he had to save the Spirit-

"Ara. Is that the idol's voice?"

His thought process coming into a halt, Shido widened his eyes in surprise as Kurumi's voice was suddenly heard from the ground, right below his feet.

It was followed by a sudden growth of the darkness that was Shido's shadow, and without a warning- Kurumi's head emerged from it.

Not expecting the surreal approach, Shido was unable to stop Miku's thoughts from speaking her mind once again.

"Y-you!?"

The Diva reflexively took a few steps back, prompting to keep a perceived safe distance from the Nightmare Spirit.

The latter seemed to be amused by the former's response, as her lips curved into a smirk.

"Fufufu… what's with the undignified reaction? I thought you were above such things, Miku-san?"

Kurumi snickered as her body fully manifested from the shadowy portal, standing before Miku.

"Are you ready to join me for a performance? I may not be a fan of your songs, but the same cannot be said for your fans down below, am I right?"

The gothic Spirit proceeded to bow her head in an exaggerated manner; it was a politeful tone, but both Shido and Miku couldn't interpret that as anything but insulting.

Knowing this, Miku suppressed a frown from forming on her face. She was not going to dignify the mockery with a response, but she wouldn't back down a challenge!

"...Humph."

Instead, after regaining her composure, the Diva huffed haughtily befitting her code-name.

"I don't need you to remind me that. In fact, my next performance might just change your mind about my music."

Kurumi's smile grew.

"I'm looking forward into that."

"Eh?!"

Before Miku or Shido could even think, Kurumi grabbed Miku's arm with an iron grip.

"Let us waste no time; your fans are waiting."

"Wa, wa, waiiiiittttttt!"

Miku's pleas were heard by none as both of them sank into the pool of darkness at a speed she never felt before.

* * *

It wasn't the first time for Shido and Miku to be swallowed by Kurumi's shadows; in fact, both of them were forcefully absorbed into her shadow by several Kurumi clones back then during the Tenou Festival.

However, it certainly didn't help them to get used to it. Kurumi's forceful tug only made the Diva's arm ache more than was necessary.

By the time Miku could see something other than a sea of darkness, the light blinded her vision for a moment. She was surely dragged through the sea of darkness for more than a few minutes.

"Oww… where am I…?"

Blinking a few times, Miku was finally able to regain her vision.

It took her a few glances to recognize where she was; she seemed to be in the middle of a very long and quite large hallway.

It was probably twice as large as the hallways in Miku's own mansion, and it had more lights on the ceiling than she expected for an underground passage.

There were several human bodies lying around. Judging from their uniform, they seemed to be DEM officers.

The Diva was a little alarmed seeing that, but considering the heavy atmosphere she felt and the fact that the hallway was dim despite the lights being on, the people were probably unconscious from Kurumi's City of Devouring Time.

It meant that she and Kurumi were beside themselves, in a darkened, quiet hallway filled with human bodies. The thought made Miku shiver.

Apparently realizing that Miku had gotten used to the light, Kurumi let out a chuckle before speaking.

"Hihihi, was the trip a little rough?"

Miku couldn't believe that was a serious question.

"Are you joking with me?! You don't have to pull me in like I am some lost child!"

Not having the patience with Kurumi's antics, the Diva yelled angrily as she pulled her arm off Kurumi's hand.

The Nightmare Spirit in question seemed to be even more amused- Kurumi merely smiled as her signature flintlock and musket were flung from her shadow into her hand.

"Time will tell about it. Anyway, should we start the performance? Preferably, I would like to hear the one that could increase the combat strength of my clones."

The idol halted her outburst. Kurumi was right. It was no time to be debating with this life-shortening demon.

She just recalled about the advantage that her sound-based powers had underground- her [voice] would echo, and reach much farther than normal. More so, in this kind of facility, there must be speakers for the times of emergency.

Miku had to prepare her [Solo] (Song of Commandment) and [March] (Song of Advance).

It would leave herself vulnerable, but if the Nightmare Spirit was with her, she could leave the defense to Kurumi.

Calming down and focusing the mana that had already waited to be unleashed within her voice, Miku approached one of the female officers that were lying around, and whispered to her ear an order that compelled both absolute obedience and the strength to do so.

"[Wake up]."

Almost immediately, the woman's body twitched. Before long, the woman's eyes gradually opened as if she just woke up from a deep slumber.

"..U..gh."

"Come on~ you don't want to keep me waiting, do you?"

Giving the half-conscious officer with another dose of [voice] that carried both her Solo and her March, the woman instantly rose to her feet, her expression full of energy.

"Y-yes! Onee-sama!"

Miku smiled bewitchingly at the officer.

"Good girl. Now, please tell me where is the room that controls the speakers for emergency."

"Um, there are a lot of rooms like that… the closest one from here is in the weapons hangar, at the end of this hallway."

The officer pointed at the direction behind Miku.

"Fufu. Honest girls are the best."

Smiling, Miku turned to Kurumi.

"You heard her, Kurumi. Let's go."

The Nightmare Spirit nodded before the two Spirits activated their flight powers and made their way through the hallway.

* * *

"Hum… so they attacked the Cage of Judgment, eh?"

The director of DEM, Isaac Westcott, smirked as he heard the news he just heard.

Two Spirits that were identified as [Princess] and [Nightmare] had invaded Cage of Judgment.

This was a pleasant surprise.

"What should we do, sir?"

A calm, almost robotic voice came from the interphone on his office table.

It belonged to Artemisia Bell Ashcroft, the Wizard who held the title Adeptus 2, which signified that she was the second strongest Wizard of DEM.

"Nothing's changed, Artemisia. Continue observing the invasion and refrain from intervening."

"Understood."

Satisfied with the answer, Westcott then leaned on his chair comfortably, as he began contemplating the opposition's moves.

All of his predictions were correct.

[Ruler] was indeed a pawn in [that woman]'s 'game.' The new Spirit probably didn't have a clue that her arrival was orchestrated by her.

And the purpose of sending Ruler to this city was… to retrieve her **other** pawn.

[ **Material B** ].

The Spirit that was found four years ago had many mysteries that even Westcott couldn't solve. The director didn't believe it at first, he knew about the Spirits more than anyone in this world, with very few exceptions.

Before he obtained the all-knowing Demon King, Westcott was always curious about Material B. He thought, once he had [Beelzebub] in his body, he would be able to unsolve the mystery regarding the Spirit at once.

To his surprise though, not even the Demon King could answer him. Even before the paradox of [Sister]'s [Rasiel] restricted his omniscience, all information regarding Material B were utterly incomprehensible.

He immediately understood why; Material B was a pawn, and she belonged to someone who had a hand behind everything.

And just yesterday, another Spirit whom Beelzebub could sense but not give information about appeared. Or in short, another pawn.

Westcott put the two together, and it became obvious. That woman sent Ruler to this city, in order to retrieve Material B which had been in DEM's hands since four years ago.

He had prepared to counter this, of course. But-

" _That woman is really adept at what she does. I am impressed."_

Westcott hadn't expected Nightmare to attack Cage of Judgment instead. On top of that, Princess - in other words, the Ratatoskr - was helping her.

This was outside of his calculations. How could Ruler gather them together like this? Did this Spirit had some sort of personal connection with both the Spirit of Time and the Ratatoskr?

More importantly, Princess had lost her powers to Itsuka Shido. In the previous encounter two weeks ago, the power container of the Spirits had indeed displayed improvement in his ability to command Spirit powers, but it was nowhere near perfect.

But just now, Artemisia had reported that Princess had displayed a level of destruction that could only be achieved by a fully-powered Spirit. How could Itsuka Shido perfect his control of Spirit powers in such a short time?

It was the same as four years ago, when he was examining Material B for the first time.

" _...I am missing a piece of information. I suppose it's time I should stop playing around."_

Westcott was excited. **Really** excited. The 'game' had just begun, and the situation was not favorable for him.

It made him **happy**.

Westcott rose from his chair.

"I must visit Elliot soon… I am sure he would appreciate a chance to play in this game, as well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... that's it! As always, comment about anything you want me to know related to this story~
> 
> Thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	16. An Angelic Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Let's begin chapter 16, "An Angelic Date"

"Is this it? Is this the hangar?"

Miku - or rather, Shido who had taken her form using Rio's [Aspect of the Sephiroth] - voiced her question as she crossed her arms against her chest, all while calmly stepping into the hangar in question.

Watching from within their shared body, Shido was almost certain it was indeed the place.

The weapons hangar was huge, almost like an underground chamber in video games. Shido was no expert in math, but he could grossly estimate that it was as large as the warehouse where [Ratatoskr] was hiding [Fraxinus].

Speaking of the airship, the walls and the ceilings of this place looked quite similar in design to the insides of Fraxinus as well, only much larger. It certainly could store a huge number of weapons.

It was indeed rather odd that the hangar was almost empty; a few [DEM] officers were lying around unconscious courtesy of Kurumi's City of Devouring Time, but the number seemed disproportionately small in comparison to the size of the hangar.

Shido and Miku could agree that it was unnerving.

"It's empty. Is a hangar supposed to be this clean?"

"It isn't empty at all. You have a very poor self-preservation instinct, Miku-san."

Casually walking past Miku, Kurumi spoke with a mocking tone without even glancing at her.

The songstress was irked, but before she could even retort, the goth girl continued.

"Come out, [Mes]."

Almost immediately as she said that, a mind-boggling amount of dark portals appeared on the floor and the walls; and from each of them, a number of [Kurumis] emerged.

Miku and Shido couldn't help but to physically and mentally gulp. Neither of them had sensed the Kurumis hiding within the floor and the walls.

In retrospect, Kurumi was probably right - as much as Miku hated to admit it - their sense of self-preservation were really bad. Both Shido and Miku knew Kurumi could do this, and yet they were not expecting it.

There were so many Kurumis in the room now; Miku didn't even bother to count. Their number was probably approaching a hundred, if not more.

"Fufu, do not forget, [I] am everywhere. And, the one who emptied this place was probably you, with your stunt earlier in the surface."

The Diva raised her brows.

The meaning of those words were not lost on her; the [Bandersnacthes] in the surface probably came from this place, considering this hangar was probably the closest to the ground level.

However, the one who destroyed them was-

"You mean [Tohka-chan], Kurumi."

Miku noticed as she corrected Kurumi, the Nightmare Spirit widened her eyes for a second, before smiling.

"Ara, yes indeed. It was [Tohka-san], not you."

She turned to the groups of Kurumis that had crowded the room.

"As for [our] part… barricade every entrance to this place. Allow no intruder to enter without permission."

Kurumi ordered with a commanding tone before dismissing them.

"Fufu, mission acknowledged."

"So, we will be security officers instead of hunters? That's a shame."

"We will be forced to listen to that little idol? Tch, this is going to be a long day."

The Kurumis responded with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Some were excited, while the majority seemed to be disheartened.

However, Miku didn't miss the insult that was thrown her way.

"Wh… what did you say!? Which one of you said that?!"

Miku yelled to the departing clones of Kurumi, however, not one of them acknowledged her frustration before they phased back into the floors and walls.

It took Miku a few moments before realizing that she was ignored.

"H-hey! Don't ignore me!"

"Kihihi. They only listen to me. Don't waste your breath, Miku-san."

Hearing the obviously amused tone from yet another Kurumi - which Miku didn't even know whether she was the original one or not - only made the idol's patience thinning further.

However, she held herself from screaming in frustration. Her [voice] would respond to that, and as annoyed as she was, she didn't want to harm Kurumi with her powers.

With a deep breath, Miku calmed herself down.

"Forget it. Let's just find the speaker! It should be here!"

"Indeed. It's right there…"

Kurumi raised her hand and pointed to a window positioned high in the walls, about half the height of the entire hangar.

A normal human wouldn't be able to see what was inside, but Miku's enhanced senses were able to discern what was inside the window; a room with a few computers, quite similar to Fraxinus' control room.

"Miku-san, I suppose you should stay where you are. I shall prepare the equipment and backstage for your performance."

Kurumi curtsied with a smile, before her own shadow expanded in size to become a portal and her body slowly submerged into it.

"Amuse me with your grace, Diva."

Was Kurumi's parting words, before she disappeared into the floor.

Miku couldn't help but smile at that challenge.

"Oh, I will do more than just amuse you."

The songstress Spirit closed her eyes, and inhaled a deep breath to calm her nerves.

To think, Miku would do a performance with Shido's body.

It was probably one of many things she didn't knew she need to do with her darling.

As her Spirit mana focused to her throat, Miku opened her mouth.

"[Gabriel]!"

That next instant, round ripples expanded on the floor, with her as the center.

As loyal as ever, her Angel manifested behind her; a gigantic pipe organ that served as the true manifestation of her power over sounds.

Smiling in satisfaction as her preparation was complete, Miku turned her gaze to the control room where Kurumi was going.

Seeing the goth girl was already there, she decided to throw in a joke as a payback for earlier.

"Assistant! Are the preparations complete?"

All of a sudden, Miku could heard a loud, unnerving, yet heartily cheerful giggle that seemed to come from all directions within the room; a sign that the speakers had been turned on.

"Fufu, yes. Now then, shall we begin?"

Thanks to the speakers, Kurumi's voice was booming inside the large chamber; if Miku wasn't resistant to sound-based attacks she was sure her ears would be ringing.

No doubt, her [voice] would be amplified several times like this across this whole base.

"Alright! Show time!"

Swinging her right hand from left to right, Miku materialized the keyboard of Gabriel, made of pure, concentrated mana.

"Sing with me, oh my dear Angel! We will perform a dual performance today!"

Miku spread her fingers, and brought them down on the keyboard with a force that matched her excitement, ready to play the melody that would sway hearts and empower souls.

"Mesmerize my audience, [Solo]! Be their strength, [March]!"

* * *

"...Ara?"

Surprised by an echoing sound in the distance, Kurumi halted herself.

_"Is this… the idol's performance?"_

To say she was surprised was an understatement. She had been exposed to the Spirit of Sound's brainwashing music before, and she didn't like it one bit.

Beautiful as it was, the sound carried a supernatural essence that amplified the request of its owner several times over. Such a performance was not enough to sway Kurumi - clones or not - but the way it tried to burrow into her very mind was anything but pleasant.

This time however, the mental-assaulting feeling was overwhelmed by a different sensation; something that calmed both her mind and the tension she had been feeling since engaging in battle.

It even eased Kurumi's hunger for Spirit mana, because the [voice] fed her with it to increase her strength.

Kurumi could even call it… comforting.

_"So… this is March, the song of empowerment."_

The Nightmare Spirit smiled. Even though she was not in a room with a speaker, the voice coming from the adjacent rooms were powerful enough to reach her ears anyway, and it still had an effect this strong.

Kurumi could only imagine how it would feel like if she was in the same room as the performer, but this was no time to imagine such fantasy.

_"My original would never admit that Miku-san's performance is actually good, anyway."_

Plus, she had things to do now.

"Now then, where was I?"

Without glancing, Kurumi aimed her flintlock next to her head, and fired a bullet at something behind her.

There was a mechanical screech, but it was brought into a halt.

Kurumi didn't need to see the remains of the [Bandersnatch] to know that the mechanical doll had been rendered quiet. Instead, Kurumi continued to the other dolls in the room.

"Who is next?"

Oh, how she wished that these robots could feel **fear**.

* * *

"Phew."

Rinne let out a relaxed sigh as she allowed the razor-sharp, constantly vibrating strings of her Angelic Lyre to destroy the last [Realizer] generator that was powering up the [Territory] dome erected around the island.

It was the one the Ruler had saved for last, which was suspiciously planted openly on the beach on the southern part of the island.

She had expected traps to activate as soon as she destroyed it - like the ones under the water earlier - but as it turned out, nothing happened, except the Territory dome that was protecting the island and keeping it out of sight faded out of existence.

_"Well, good for me."_

It was then, Kannazuki's voice was heard from the communicator in her left ear.

"...I see that the barrier is taken down. Good work, Ruler."

"It's nothing. What about Shido and Kurumi's condition?"

Rinne knew that neither Shido nor Kurumi would not be hurt that easily, but that didn't stop her from asking out of concern.

"Shido has started Gabriel's performance to support our troops, so I have to cut Shido's line due to the extreme noise. However, Kurumi's line is still functional. Nightmare, your status?"

There was a clicking sound before Kurumi's voice was heard speaking, more serious than she normally was.

"My clones are keeping the [Bandersnatches] busy as we speak, and as for myself, I can infer that I am about to enter the lower half of this facility."

"How did you come into that conclusion?"

"Miku-san's performance allows the humans I have neutralized to regain consciousness, which allows me to interrogate them about the facility."

"So things have been going in our favor thus far. Did you interrogate them about the Spirit locked in the facility?"

"I did, but all of the officers in the upper half of the facility are essentially pawns. They know nothing except for the basic layout of the facility, and the fact that the lower half of the facility is even more well-guarded than the surface."

"Hum?"

"Excuse me?"

Both Kannazuki and Rinne couldn't contain their surprise.

"It is as I say. The floors and the walls of the lower half of the facility are reinforced by Territory barriers, powered by Realizers within the construct. Not only it makes them harder to destroy, but it also prevents me and my clones from simply phasing through with my powers. I was forced to destroy the floor to get there."

"Is that so? That means despite the effort they put into hiding this base, the DEM is still expecting this place to be breached at some point."

After saying that, Kannazuki then hummed in thought, no doubt contemplating what that could possibly mean.

Rinne was not sure if she was taking conclusions too early, but she decided to speak anyway.

"That means the Spirit is very likely to be located down there. Right, Kurumi?"

"Most likely, Rinne. I have tested that these reinforced walls also cut off our communication line. A few minutes before you contacted me, I sent a clone of mine through the hole I made to try contacting you with the earpiece, but it seems that you didn't hear anything. Am I wrong?"

The Ruler opened her mouth, but Kannazuki beat her to replying.

"Indeed. We didn't pick up your clone's voice at all."

"There is little doubt that the Spirit is located down there, but there is also no doubt that it will be quite risky for me to infiltrate by myself. I think it's about time for my back up?"

Despite the rather grim message she was conveying, Kurumi's tone was back to her usual, playful tone. Rinne rolled her eyes at that.

_"Oh, Kurumi. At least try to sound like you are actually troubled."_

Rinne refrained from commenting, though. Kurumi really liked being dramatic, after all.

Meanwhile, Kannazuki seemed to agree with Kurumi.

"I suppose we can agree on that. Ruler?"

"Alright, I will catch up with her."

Rinne turned her sights to the destroyed land behind her, caused by Shido's [Halvanhelev] earlier.

The sight of the ruined forest - if it could even be called that anymore - made her pause momentarily, but Rinne refocused her mind.

"Kurumi, I know you will not wait for me, so I'll say this, at least. Be careful, ok?"

The Spirit on the other end of the line let out a chuckle.

"There is no need to worry about me."

* * *

Just as she said that, the Nightmare Spirit leaped through the hole she just made on the floor.

Soon after, darkness greeted her as Kurumi gently landed on the lower floor, her flight powers aiding her descent.

There was no light source, if she didn't count the hole above her. It was quite fortunate that Spirits like Kurumi did not require light to see.

After a moment's observation, Kurumi could tell that she was in yet another hallway. The design was roughly similar to the one in the upper floors, but this one was larger in both width and height, resembling actual tunnels.

If she took into account the metallic floor and the lack of light, it was even more similar to an abandoned excavation tunnel.

"..."

As far as she could tell, nothing was hiding within the darkness. However, Kurumi didn't trust her senses in this situation. With that in mind, she allowed her shadow to expand from her feet, ready to summon her reserve clones at a moment's notice.

Slowly, the Nightmare Spirit moved forward with a slow, careful pace.

"You finally arrived."

Kurumi halted her step at the distant, yet very loud, feminine voice that echoed within the darkness. It was probably spoken through a speaker of some sort.

"Hmm… earlier than my calculation. Although Ratatoskr's Spirit is helping you, I don't expect you to bypass the upper defenses this quickly."

The polite, surprisingly welcoming tone was unexpected for Kurumi, to say the least. However, Kurumi was not so easily surprised.

"Ara ara, I am flattered. To whom do I owe this pleasure?"

"Ah, where are my manners?"

The tone of the voice was outwardly polite, but Kurumi knew better. Underneath the formality, it was dismissive, and didn't have any respect at all.

"I am the security system of [Cage of Judgment]. Ars Unit 1, [ **Marina** ]."

Kurumi narrowed her eyes.

_"She calls herself 'the security system'?"_

It was not human?

Then, what could it be? A robot? Artificial intelligence, perhaps? If it was, it was certainly several times more advanced than the Bendersnatch.

Those combat dolls spoke with programmed voices, and with a robotic, monotonous tone. On the other hand, this Marina clearly sounded human, if the false politeness was any indication.

As she was in thought, Marina spoke again.

"I know what you are. Classified threat level S, codenamed Nightmare. There is no one within the DEM who isn't aware of the atrocities you have committed."

The Spirit of Time almost wanted to laugh at the statement. The Deus Ex Machina, accusing her of atrocities?

Kurumi didn't even want to point out the sheer irony and hypocrisy of that.

"How rude. And, what are you going to do about it?"

"Oh, it's simple."

Marina let out a chuckle.

"I will just kill you, that's all."

All of a sudden, Kurumi could feel killing intent from within the darkness.

Expecting an attack since earlier, the Nightmare Spirit instantly summoned her temporal selves from her shadow, forming a human barricade both in front of and behind her.

An instant later, Kurumi could hear several gunfire shots from within the darkness. Several projectiles pierced and killed some of her clones - the Spirit of Time could feel their dying agony as the memories returned to her - but none of the attacks managed to breach through and reach her.

"Ha ha ha! As expected from the worst Spirit. There is no way I could kill you with a simple ambush."

Much to Kurumi's surprise, Marina's voice didn't come from a speaker this time. In fact, this voice sounded more natural.

Reabsorbing what were left from her clones back to her shadow, Kurumi turned to see the source of the voice.

What she saw made her widen her eyes in surprise.

"...Astral Dress?"

Kurumi couldn't help but voice her shock as her eyes fell on a black-haired, golden eyed young girl who seemed to pop out of existence in the midst of the dark.

Indeed, the first thing that Kurumi noticed was what Marina was wearing.

It was a black dress that was vertically cut in the middle - exposing the girl's body - with a frilly white collar around the neck. The girl also wore a very small shorts that matched her 'dress.'

However, what would otherwise just be an exotic clothing was complimented with several dozens of black ribbons - or perhaps, cables - that sprouted forth from the back of her dress, as well as around the hip of the dress, all shrouded with a dark energy that Kurumi knew all too well.

Spirit mana.

"You are… a Spirit?"

"Hmm…"

Unexpectedly, Marina crossed her arms in front of her chest, and made a posture as if she was thinking.

"Hmm… that's right, I'm a Spirit. But I guess… you can also say that I'm not a Spirit?"

Then, she shrugged.

"Whatever. You are going to die anyway, so why should it matter to you?"

As if on cue, Marina summoned a pair of anti-material rifles that were similar to the ones carried by [Anti Spirit Team]'s Wizards, one in each hand, and aimed it at Kurumi.

The Nightmare Spirit also noticed that this new Spirit was not the alone- behind Marina, there were about seven girls with suspiciously identical features; and Kurumi could also sense nine people with Spirit mana behind her.

_"Seventeen of them, surrounding me… but there could be more."_

From what she could sense, all seventeen were Spirits. That was impossible for there to be that many though; so most likely, it was a self-duplication power… just like hers.

Knowing that she was surrounded, Kurumi quickly used her flight powers to dive toward the ceiling - narrowly avoiding the magical bullets fired at her - and flew through the hole she made earlier to enter this floor.

"Humph! Are you running away, Nightmare?!"

Apparently offended, one of the Marinas screamed at her with a mocking tone.

The Nightmare Spirit didn't pay heed to it.

"Kihihi. [Mes]! Fire!"

The instant she returned to the upper floor, Kurumi commanded her army of temporal selves - that had been waiting there since earlier - to fire down shadow bullets upon the floor.

After only a second of preparation, thousands of shadow bullets were fired; damaging the whole floor and causing it to crack; and, in a short order, crumble and fell down below.

As countless rubble of metal collided with the tunnel below, Kurumi could vaguely make out several female screams among the loud crashing noise, no doubt belonging to the Marinas that were buried by the floor her army had destroyed.

Kurumi smirked at the carnage.

_"It seems that she doesn't understand the meaning of tactical retreat."_

Clearly, Marina had underestimated Kurumi. Although this Spirit had managed to take Kurumi by surprise, Marina failed to capitalize on that.

Kurumi couldn't deny that she was surprised, though. She had not expected the existence of another Spirit inside this cage, let alone one who would serve DEM.

However, the Nightmare Spirit wasn't worried about her chances.

There was **no one** alive who was more experienced in killing Spirits than her, after all.

Still, if Marina had duplication powers, Kurumi couldn't underestimate her, either. There was little to no possibility that the real Marina was among the ones she had buried alive.

The Spirit of Time was confident, but there was a fine line between rightful confidence and foolish arrogance. Although she was sure she could take on this Spirit by herself, it would be better to wait for Rinne to help her, in this case.

Now that Kurumi was back to the upper half of the facility, the communication should be available again.

_"I should report this while I still can…"_

"Ha… ha ha ha!"

Kurumi widened her eyes at the feminine, sinister laughter coming from below.

Roughly seventeen figures emerged from the rubble and levitated into the air - without the slightest hint of injury on their form. Their bodies were not even dirtied.

The Marinas.

"...I see."

Surviving those rubble without a single scratch, meant that these Spirits were not just protected by their Astral Dress. From head to toe, they were protected by Territories; which meant they were also carrying Combat Realizers like Wizards.

"Not bad, Nightmare!"

"Using our own environment against us… you really are the worst Spirit."

"But did you really think we could be beaten that easily?"

All of the Marinas looked up to face Kurumi's army, all with a smug grin that seemed to scream 'not enough firepower.'

Kurumi could hear some of her temporal selves being insulted and shot back their own insults, but Kurumi didn't bother to do the same.

_"...Well, this will take a while. I suppose calling Rinne over was a good idea, after all."_

* * *

"Phew… thanks for listening, everyone!"

Even though there was no visible audience, Miku bowed her head slightly as Gabriel stopped its singing.

Unable to contain her smile, Miku turned toward the Kurumi inside the speaker room.

"How was my performance, assistant? It was spectacular, wasn't it?"

"I have to admit… it was different than the innocent performance I heard back then. I'll retract my words, Miku-san."

Much to Miku's surprise, Kurumi praised her with a straightforward, sincere tone; leaving her speechless.

Miku was expecting the insufferable woman to begrudgingly admit that she was amazing, so that she could pay back all those insults… but hearing a genuine praise made it rather difficult to rub it on Kurumi's face.

However, her pride as an idol was strong, and she was never one to turn down a praise anyway.

"Ufufu, I see that I have won your heart over!"

Miku crossed her arms pridefully as she dispelled both her keyboard and her Angel, prompting Kurumi to let out a questioning 'hum'

"What are you doing, Miku-san?"

"I don't need to stay here, you know. A performance only needs to be done once. If I want to energize your clones and captivate everyone again, I only need to leave a few pipes there-"

To match her words, several silver long round tubes appeared near Kurumi's feet within the speaker room, surprising Kurumi.

"Ara, there are…?"

"Those pipes are part of my Gabriel. So long as it's there, no matter where I am in this base, my [voice] can reach the speakers in that room."

"I see… sounds travel through any medium, so your Angel can also manifest and phase through surfaces… hump, my original really have underestimated you."

Miku positively smiled at the praise, although she didn't miss what those last words implied.

"So you are not the original Kurumi, eh? Do you know where she is, then? I need to catch up with her."

"Far, far deeper beneath the earth than us. I'll have a convoy prepared for you, songstress."

The Diva frowned. That meant it would take some time to reach the Nightmare Spirit; considering Miku couldn't phase through solid objects like Kurumi and her clones could.

She could simply destroy the floors… but spending Spirit mana too much while her role was for support was unwise.

"Very well then. Let's depart!"

"Izayoi-san?"

A voice called out her surname.

"Ara?"

"Eh?"

Both Kurumi and Miku recognised it - it was a voice belonging to the third Spirit involved in this invasion.

_"Rinne?"_

_"Mama?"_

Ignoring Shido and Rio's mental voice, Miku's thoughts turned their body to face the entrance of the room. As her indigo eyes met Rinne's veiled yet intense crimson red, the Spirit that just entered the room smiled.

"I was looking for you. Seems that I missed a live performance."

The Diva somehow felt slightly nervous, now that she was face-to-face with the Spirit that made Shido fell into a coma.

In her silence, the Kurumi clone in the speaker room spoke in Miku's place with a pleased tone.

"You have arrived, I see. This will make clearing the obstacles in our path much easier."

"Why do I feel like I am considered some sort of heavy artillery force…"

While Rinne and Kurumi made their usual back and forth bickering, though, Miku's thoughts became dormant, as Shido and Rio took over.

_"Rio, can I transform back to my usual form and keep using Gabriel like Miku did just now?"_

_"Hmm…"_

Shido could imagine Rio's poking her chin, deep in thought.

_"It's a little difficult for Papa, but Rio can control the Angel while Papa is talking to Mama."_

_"Eh? How do you know that I want to…"_

He stopped his mental question. What was he thinking? Of course Rio could tell.

_"Thank you, Rio. I don't know how many times I will say this."_

_"It's fine, Papa. Rio only exists for Papa and Mama."_

Feeling the large, happy smile that was no doubt forming on Rio's imaginary face, he wished he could mentally hug her.

_"Then… let's cancel our transformation."_

_"Um!"_

After transforming twice, Shido thought that transforming back to his original form would feel strange again, but surprisingly, the familiar sense of reconfiguration was absent.

Rather, it felt as if the Spirit mana that sustained his transformation returned back to him, which felt quite similar to the sensation he had when he sealed a Spirit, apart from the… kiss, of course.

Closing his eyes, the light that was Miku's Astral Dress, [Shaddai El Chai] faded away from his form, and the familiar feeling of his school uniform returned.

"Phew…"

Letting out a sigh, Shido opened his eyes to find Rinne's familiar veiled gaze.

"Shido? Why did you return to your human form?"

At that moment, Shido felt something.

For some reason, an overwhelming urge came over him. The instant he saw Rinne, he felt he had to do something. Something he usually did… something he had to do, because only he could do.

It was a strangely familiar feeling.

_"Something… is urging me to capture her."_

Without understanding why, Shido flashed a smile with as much confidence as he could muster to answer Rinne.

"Isn't it obvious? I want to talk with you. And obviously it isn't appropriate if I use Miku's form to talk with my date partner, ain't it?"

"...!"

Rinne was silent, but even her posture made it clear that she was surprised.

Shido had expected that reaction. He had thought that Rinne was the modest type. Thus, a bold move would be effective, and it was perfect, he managed to catch her off-guard.

Time to be on the offensive.

"What's wrong, Rinne?"

With a cheeky tone, Shido asked teasingly - but much to his chagrin, Rinne ignored it.

"...I think your personality changed somewhat. That bold reaction… is not like the usual you, Shido."

"Huh?"

As if snapped out of a daze, Shido let out a dumbfounded sound.

_"Wait a second… I said what?"_

Shido knew, he was once again not being his usual self. Normally, Shido would have been blushing like a tomato if he said things like that. Yet, he could not even feel any sense of embarrassment, it was as if he was always this shameless.

_"What happened to me, this time? How could I say all of that?"_

_"Don't worry, Papa. It's a side effect of our power…"_

_"Side effect?"_

He was surprised. Rio's power had a side effect?

_"No matter how Rio smooths the mana flow, it still flows through Papa's body. So, slight influences on Papa's behavior is unavoidable."_

_"Influences?"_

Did Rio mean his altered personality? The one that Reine claimed was like a gigolo of some sorts? The thought of him hitting on girls, especially Rinne, made him a little hesitant.

Not to mention… was he alright? This felt like de ja vu. Didn't he overheat his Spirit powers before with these symptoms? Could the transformation, [Aspect of the Sephiroth], cause him to lose control over his Spirit powers again?

_"Are you sure I will be alright?"_

_"Papa will be okay. Rio promises that Papa isn't in any danger like last time."_

The reassuring, gentle voice was all Shido needed.

Erasing hesitance from his thoughts, Shido spoke again.

"It's probably nothing. Just a side effect from using Tohka's and Miku's form for too long, I guess. Why don't we ask Kannazuki-san? He should be able to check whether my Spirit signature is abnormal."

"Please check, Kannazuki-san."

Speaking to the communicator that was likely in her ears, Rinne directly asked their operator.

Shido could hear a clicking sound in his own communicator, and Kannazuki's voice came in.

"It's true. There is no abnormal or dangerous sign on Shido-kun's body."

"I see…"

Rinne was clearly still skeptical, but she held her tongue.

Once more, Shido smiled against his will. For some reason, he felt like this was a chance for him to capitalize.

"It is not the one I promised yesterday, but shall we go for our date, Rinne?"

Shido smirked as he confidently said that.

The Ruler's expression was hidden beneath the veil like always, but Shido didn't need to see in order to know Rinne was embarrassed.

"You don't have to put it like that… are you sure you are alright?"

Shido decided to reply that with the most gentlemanly smile he could make with his lips.

"Ever since I met you, I knew you have a kind heart. But I didn't expect you to be such a worrywart…"

"T-that's…!"

Bull's eye. Shido knew he was spot on. Rinne was not quite like the girls he knew. She would think for everyone, not just herself. With that kind of leniency, Shido had a lot of ways to woo her.

Shido was clearly doing well, but this was not enough. He had to press on.

"No matter. That's what makes you such a wonderful lady, anyway."

"...You are definitely not being your normal self."

At the accusing tone, Shido finally frowned, slightly. It seemed that Rinne was worrying about the same thing that he thought earlier… the disaster he could never recall.

If that was the case, the only way to reassure her was to tell what Rio had said.

On impulse, Shido aggressively moved toward Rinne.

"Wh, what are you-"

Rinne instinctively backed off him, but Shido didn't let her escape. The Angelic Lyre in her left hand wasn't active, so he was free to enter her personal space.

Without missing a beat and not allowing her to resist, Shido grabbed Rinne's right hand, and pulled her closer to his embrace.

_"Whoa… Papa is awesome! Mama is absolutely stunned!"_

Smiling at Rio's cheerful applause within his own mind, Shido resisted the urge to take off the veil that stood between him and his final goal - her lips - and instead moved his head close enough to let out a whisper.

"...Rio told me that this is a side effect of my transformation. I am really okay, Rinne. Trust me, and Rio."

Up close, the veil that usually made Rinne's features indiscernible was almost transparent; something that Shido was grateful for since it allowed him to keep his eye contact and make out the girl's expressions.

Needless to say, Rinne was shocked senseless. It remained that way for several moments… just as Shido had hoped.

But then, Rinne's lips was contorted into a something like an embarrassed frown - which was good - but her eyes turned accusatory, and then she whispered back.

"So you are taking advantage of this side effect to win me over? Shido, maybe you really are a gigolo."

Shido smirked.

"If you realize that just now, then Kurumi hasn't been telling you enough about me."

Rinne's frown, unexpectedly for Shido, turned somewhat amused.

"It can't be helped, I guess. Then, I will play along."

The Ruler proceeded to gently push him away - much to Shido's disappointment - before backing a few steps from him.

Shido intended to come closer again, but then Rinne's voice stopped him.

"Stay where you are. I said I am about to play along, right?"

As if to emphasize her point, Spirit mana began to appear around Rinne, surrounding her Astral Dress.

_"Eh? This flow of mana… Mama is about to transform?"_

Inside Shido's head, Rio seemed to be able to recognize what Rinne was about to do.

True to Rio's words, Rinne's Astral Dress suddenly glowed brightly, forcing Shido to cover his eyes with his arm.

It lasted for only a moment, before-

"[Elohim Mikarov]"

Upon hearing Rinne utter an unfamiliar name, Shido unconsciously lowered his arm.

What greeted his sight made his jaw drop.

It was Rinne.

But- she was different.

Standing upright before him, Rinne's appearance had changed from her usual Astral Dress, to say the least; the purple veil covering her face was gone, revealing her beautiful face for the world to see.

The large purple headdress on top of her head lost its large curtain, now only reaching her neck. Her ankle-reaching pink braids were also gone, and her hair became shorter too; Shido could see that her hair only barely reached her hips.

Shido also noticed that her purple clock dress lost most of its lower part as well, exposing Rinne's bare legs and thighs, now resembling a minidress more than anything.

On both sides of her hips, purple materials resembling coattails billowed elegantly, reaching down just below her knee. Her feet wore a pair of high-heeled shoes that seemed to be made of gold, the same material that forged the emblem on her headdress.

Wrapped around her hands were purple ribbons that seemed to be composed of metallic strings, not unlike the one in her lyre. Their lengths probably exceeded Rinne's own height, as the two ribbons were floating in the air around her, as if protective of their owner.

To say Shido was surprised was an understatement.

Opening her crimson eyes, now brighter than ever, Rinne smiled at him.

"Hee hee. Surprised?"

His mind blank for a moment, Shido found himself unable to speak, and could only manage a slow nod in affirmative.

Rinne giggled at him.

"Don't be speechless like that! I haven't even begun to play."

His common sense returning at the somewhat taunting words, Shido finally managed to regain his ability to speak.

"Wh, what's with that? I thought your earlier appearance was your Astral Dress?"

"It is, but that doesn't mean it's the only form it has. This is my half-formed Astral Dress."

Shido couldn't help but feel surprised and curious at the same time. It was true, Astral Dresses could be changed to whatever form the Spirit desired. Manifesting them partially would change its form as well, although it would result in a lower defense.

However, the Spirit mana that Shido could feel from Rinne remained as strong as ever; and since Rio was not physically present now, it felt even stronger than it was back inside the [Hraesvelgr].

As if aware of Shido's eyes checking her form, Rinne opened her mouth and smiled in an innocent, yet alluring expression - one that made Shido's heart beat faster.

"This is my form for a [date]. What do you think, Shido?"

"...You mean, it's your form for combat?"

It took Shido a second to understand that by [date] she meant [battle].

"Yes. With this form, I can focus more of my strength to my Angel. This is the true form of my [Cassiel] (Fate Shaman)… [Laharos] (Prophecy of Ruin)."

Rinne lightly swung her right arm, and the floating metallic ribbon to her right quickly dissolved into dozens of threads, before quickly reforming and becoming a single ribbon once more.

"Now then, shall we have our [date]?"

The Ruler smiled confidently, and extended her hand toward him.

Shido was stunned just now, but his composure had returned. He could see that Rinne indeed decided to play along with him now; she used that transformation to buy time and recover from his offensive.

What a clever move. Shido couldn't help but feel excited.

"Yes, let's begin our [date]."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, that's it! Before you comment though, there are several things to note about.
> 
> The Spirit introduced in this chapter, Marina, who is the titular character and main antagonist from Date A Live: Ars Install.
> 
> In the light novels, Westcott created spawns from his Demon King Beelzebub, which look, talk and act like Marina, called Nibellecoles. Because of that, I am hesitant to add Marina, since Nibellecole could be the new Marina of the light novels. 
> 
> But after seeing Volume 17, I am somewhat sure Nibellecoles won't ever take part as Marina. Thus, I am free from my hesitation!
> 
> Rinne's transformed Astral Dress is original to this fic and drawn by my brother, which looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/k07i5D6
> 
> "Laharos" is the name of Cassiel's weapon in Kabbah, being … an otherworldly weapon that is said to scream 'ruin' to the angel's opponent, and used against all who is not worthy of seeing God.
> 
> This is also why both of Cassiel's forms are highly unconventional here (a lyre that could extend its strings to tear enemies apart, and hovering ribbons composed of dozens of the same strings, all controlled with the mind).
> 
> Meanwhile, Elohim Mikarov means "God is always near" and is one of the many, many Names of God, which are used for the names of Astral Dresses in Date a Live.
> 
> With that said, feel free to comment about them~ and thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation"!


	17. The Ruler of Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salutations! Here is chapter 17, "The Ruler of Power"

It had been a while since she could feel the sensations of being [alive].

If living meant the breaths she drew in, and the beating heart within her chest, then she was indeed [alive].

But if living meant preserving her free will, carrying out her desire and her purpose, then she was not [alive] at all.

" _How long had it been…?"_

How long, indeed?

The passage of time was very slow when you were not alive.

Had it been years? …Four years?

" _I have been dreaming for this long?"_

The dream had indeed gone on for so long.

After all, what else could she do?

She wasn't alive, she could only pretend to.

" _Ah… when will it end? When will I wake up?"_

When her dream was disturbed.

In this very instant, something interfered with her sleep.

One… two… three…

" _This sensation… three of my kind? In this prison?"_

It was the faintest presence she ever felt.

However, weak as it was, it resonated within what was left of her soul.

" _Finally… finally!"_

Soon, very soon.

She would awaken from this dream.

And she would be alive again.

* * *

Rinne didn't feel well.

It was unusual for her to let herself be distracted until she felt uneasy. And she knew it was not a good thing to do.

Especially not now, when she was on a mission to free a Spirit in the [Cage of Judgment]. Yet, she could not get her thoughts off the young man beside her.

Unlike the [Kurumis] and Rinne herself, Shido couldn't get past solid walls and floors with any of his Angels, so they had to go down by foot.

It was a tempting thought to just destroy the floors, but it would spend an unnecessary amount of Spirit mana. It would be unwise to do that while battles likely awaited them ahead.

Which led to this moment. The two of them were now inside an elevator that Kurumi clones had forcefully taken control by phasing into them and manipulating its system.

Which meant she was alone together. With him.

It was humiliating. That something as small as this made her feel embarrassed… no, more than that.

What to call this feeling? Anxiety?

" _Even though I know this will be happening sooner or later… I am still nervous?"_

Even though she was just alone together with him? Really, Shido was…

At that thought, Rinne glanced to her right.

How many times had she paused, just to take a good look at him?

The blue hair that framed his smooth features of a face.

The golden irises and whitened pupils with fierce determination and intense focus.

It was the same face she had seen several times, through [Web of Causality] of hers.

Right now, those features seemed to be deep in thought, much like her own.

She didn't know why, but she felt like he was probably conversing with Rio, inside his mind.

" _How can I tell with just a glance, I wonder…"_

Really, Shido's existence was like a spider web for her.

From that day Kurumi told her about him, she was already trapped against her own will.

Rinne didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Rinne."

She almost jolted at the sudden mention of her name.

"Yes?"

Shido's lips turned into a knowing smirk. Rinne felt her face suddenly become warmer.

"Are you distracted? It is good to lose yourself in my charm, but not when we have a Spirit to rescue."

Rinne felt like she wanted to slap him for his egoistical statement, but really, he was right.

This gigolo would not get what he wanted, though.

"Don't be so confident, Shido. If I was lost in your charm, you would be screaming and begging for mercy while my [Laharos] is restraining you."

Her train of thought suddenly becoming mischievous, Rinne couldn't help but smile.

Her mental command sent through her Angel, some of the purple ribbon wrapped on her right arm unwrapped itself, and dissolved into five smaller ribbons to mimic human fingers.

Faster than Shido could react, they moved to tickle his nape. He jolted at the contact, reflexively reaching for his neck, at which point the ribbons had let go.

Confused, Shido turned his body around to look for the culprit, only for the five ribbons to dissolve into five dozens of smaller strings which glow with metallic purplish light, which proceeded to grab Shido's legs.

"Wh-whoa!"

The threads then pulled his legs backwards with a single tug, causing Shido to lose his balance and fell forward.

But, before his face could hit the floor of the elevator, the ribbon wrapped on her left arm had quickly deployed itself, moved and encircled around Shido's chest and body, lifting him mid-air just a few inches above the floor.

Deciding that was enough, Rinne commanded her Angel to turn his body to the left to allow him see her smile.

Shido's face was surprised throughout the whole ordeal, but once he saw her smile, his expression turned into one of slight horror.

"You, you are into bondage!?"

Rinne smiled wider as her Laharos gently repositioned Shido back to his original upright position.

Funny as it was, Rinne didn't want to pull pranks on Shido too much. But maybe one more quip would be alright…

"I wonder…? I will leave that up to your imagination."

As Shido was back standing up, he eyed her Laharos ribbons warily. For some reason, that almost made Rinne laugh.

Kurumi really was a bad influence on her.

"Kihihi! As amusing as your back and forth are, I apologize to cut it short."

Kurumi's laughter could be heard from the elevator's walls, an obvious sign that she was there with them.

"We are already at the halfway point of this facility. The elevator stops here, the entrance to the lower facility is not here. Be on your guard."

Rinne could feel her body tensing by instinct.

She inhaled a breath. It really had been a while since she had to engage a combat.

Next to her, Shido also made his own preparation.

"[Sandalphon]"

The familiar name resonated with his mana, and in an instant, a large sword of light once again appeared in Shido's hands, its radiance filling the small room they were in.

It didn't slip Rinne's notice that Shido didn't use Rio's [Aspect of the Sephiroth] again to transform.

" _Hmm… is it because he still wants to use Gabriel?"_

It seemed Rio's power had its own drawbacks too, as amazing as it was. It looked like fully transforming into a Spirit rendered Shido unable to use more than one of his Angels.

Because since earlier, either as [Yatogami Tohka] or [Izayoi Miku], he didn't use any other Angel beside Sandalphon or Gabriel.

It was very peculiar, but understandable. Powerful as she was, Rio was still inexperienced with manipulating Spirit mana. Rinne wasn't completely sure, but it would seem likely that Aspect of the Sephiroth was also intended to stabilize Shido's mana flow.

" _What would happen once Rio manages to fully control Shido's powers?"_

The thought made Rinne shudder. The sheer potential… it was unimaginable.

Unaware of her scrutiny, Shido gave Sandalphon a little test swing, before turning his gaze toward her.

"Let's go!"

Rinne couldn't help but smile at his seriousness. He really wanted to save this Spirit.

"Fu fu. I shall open the door now."

Obeying Kurumi, the elevator's door opened slowly.

"Huh…?"

Shido let out a dumbfounded voice at what greeted them.

Rinne couldn't blame him, she wasn't expecting this, either.

Before them was a large chamber- or at least, what was originally a chamber. The ceilings were far above them, and Rinne could barely see the other end of the room. In terms of size, this was probably larger than even the chamber where she rendezvoused with Shido earlier.

However, the floor ahead of them had almost totally collapsed. Judging from the uneven damage on what little amount was left, it was probably an army of Kurumi who created such a massive opening. She said as much during her report earlier.

Rinne took a step closer to observe what was waiting underneath them, and Shido followed her.

Down below, it appeared to be an all-out war. Sounds of gunfire and bullets hitting something rung endlessly. In a few seconds, Rinne could hear a few female screams from them.

She didn't know whether those screams were simply because they were shouting, or something else involving pain. Or perhaps, death.

Rinne frowned.

Among the scraps and rabbles of metal, multiple Kurumis appeared to be fighting another group of identical young girls. They were armed with weapons Rinne recognized as energy rifles and swords, much like Wizards of AST.

But what she hadn't expected was, the girls were clad in strange, revealing black dresses… engulfed in Spirit mana.

Those girls wore Astral Dresses.

" _Who are they? Are they Spirits?"_

"…What? Who are those girls fighting with Kurumi?"

Shido asked with a dumbfounded tone, no doubt thinking along the same lines as her.

"That's not a question we can answer for now, Shido-san."

They both turned their heads to the ceiling of their elevator when the Kurumi clone who was accompanying them from within the walls suddenly spoke.

"I am not one of the [Mes] who are fighting down there. We need to ask one of the Mes fighting here, preferably, the original.

Rinne nodded in agreement, although she was sure this Kurumi already had an idea about who these apparent enemies were.

" _These girls… are not [Material B], are they?"_

There was a chance the original Kurumi had already freed the Spirit locked in this facility and these girls were Material B; but if that was the case she should have no reason to attack Kurumi.

Even if the Spirit was unstable like Itsuka Kotori and would attack anything on sight, they shouldn't be wielding Deus Ex Machina Wizard weapons.

Which meant- these girls were part of DEM.

" _I don't need to hesitate, then… though confirming the situation takes priority."_

With that in mind, Rinne twitched the Angelic Strings on her arms.

"Let's go, Shido."

"Alright."

Together, both of them leaped down the elevator and into the crossfire between a group of Kurumis and the unidentified girls, but Rinne knew neither she nor Shido intended to let themselves be hit.

"Hyah!"

Shido shouted a battle cry as he swung his Angelic Sword downwards with both of his hands, sending a wave of purple-black energy toward the hostile group of girls.

"Huh?!"

"More intruders!?"

Alerted by their arrival, the unidentified girls quickly separated to all directions to avoid Shido's attack, which demolished the already ruined rabble they were standing on.

As they were scattered, she and Shido had landed safely on the rabbles. Not missing a beat, Rinne decided to get the attention of the other group.

"Kurumis! What is happening here? Who are you fighting against?"

Recognizing her voice, the Kurumis all smiled, prompting Rinne to smile in return despite the tense situation. Relaxing, two of the Kurumis then floated her way to approach her.

"As you can see, currently our forces are in a battle against those girls." One of them said, in a rushed tone.

The other cleared her throat before she spoke. "They call themselves Ars Unit 1, Marina, and claim to be the security system of this facility."

Rinne raised a brow. She had been expecting these girls to belong to the DEM, but the security system of Cage of Judgment? What could that mean?

It was Shido who asked her question.

"Security system? But they are clearly Spirits!"

Shido was clearly concerned. Influenced by Rio's powers or not; he would definitely prioritize saving Spirits, even the ones who were hostile to him. He had tried, and was still trying to, save Kurumi, after all.

One of the Kurumis smiled. "We can tell, Shido-san. But there is no indication that these girls are the one we came for."

"In fact, I am sure they aren't." The other finished, her expression grim.

Just as this Kurumi said that, the Marinas on the other side had regrouped and had them on their sights.

"Those are Itsuka Shido and the Ruler!"

"Humph, the capture targets priority?"

"We can just leave them half-dead. No need to hold back!"

Shouting those words, the Marinas began barraging them with dozens of energy shots.

Rinne could see Shido preparing himself to block it with his Sandalphon, his posture tensing, and his hands gripping his sword in a stance that resembled a kendo practitioner. It was actually a very adorable pose.

"Haaahhh!"

With his sword, Shido projected a forcefield made of purple energy, not unlike Tohka's to protect them.

Knowing Shido would take care of their defense, Rinne turned her focus back to the two Kurumis behind her.

"Where is your original?"

"I am not sure."

"These Marinas are definitely fewer than us in terms of numbers, but more and more of them came from the floors below."

"I suspect the original Me has left this floor and descended."

Rinne nodded in understanding. That meant there could be more of them below, and Kurumi really wasn't waiting for her.

" _Oh, well. I did say she wouldn't be waiting."_

There was no need to fret over it.

"What do you want to do, Shido?"

Saying that, Rinne turned to the human with Spirit powers, who returned her gaze.

Honestly, she could tell what he was about to say.

There was a Spirit in reach, and even if the Marinas were hostile to them, Shido definitely wouldn't leave it alone.

It was just how he was.

True to her thoughts, Shido's lips turned into a confident smirk.

"You know what I am going to do."

Rinne found herself smiling at that answer.

"Very well."

"Got any plans? Those girls won't wait for too long."

Shido gestured his head, pointing to beyond the purple barrier he was projecting.

The Marinas seemed to have realized the futility of their attacks.

"Won't budge with this much, eh?"

"Group together! Formation L!"

The Marinas form a circular formation mid-air, forming something akin to a hexagram facing toward Shido's barrier with three to four Marinas on each point. They all projected their Realizer's magical energy into a single point in the middle of their circle; forming a very small, yet intense sphere-shaped [Territory].

One of them shouted. "Fire!"

At once, the Marinas fired all of their rifles into the Territory they created, which completely absorbed their shots – or rather, condensed their energy within the sphere. After a moment, the sphere cracked, and from the small hole a very large beam was fired toward Shido's barrier.

Rinne could tell from a glance that Shido was not going to be able to block this one. She was sure Shido and the Kurumis thought the same as they all leaped a considerable distance away.

Well, she was not planning to do the same. Rinne dashed and went into a kneeling position; gathering the strength and the momentum to made a leap **over** the incoming attack.

"Rinne?!"

She could hear Shido's shout from behind, but Rinne was unconcerned. She would be able to make the jump, she was sure of it.

"She jumped over our attack!"

"Spread, spread! She will attack us!"

Rinne let her lips curve into a small smile. A little too late.

"Laharos!"

Like a snake lunged at its prey, her Laharos lunged at its victim as Rinne extended her right arm.

"What the-

The Marina on her sight never got to finish her sentence.

The seemingly harmless ribbons on her arms had once again separated into hundreds of strings, and every single one of them found a place to wrap on Marina's body.

"A… a…!"

The legs, the hips, the stomach, the chest, the back, the arms, the neck – her threads had wrapped around and squeezed, the Marina could not even make a visible struggle. All she could do was to let out a strangled whimper.

Before any of the other Marinas could react, Rinne twirled mid-air as she swung the Laharos in her right arm behind her; forcefully separating the captured Marina away from her group to her direction.

As Rinne landed on the rabble scattered on the floor, the strings suddenly halted their momentum as the Marina passed by next to her, as if it was trying to curtly, and humbly present its captured prey to her as the Master.

Her back turned to the group of Marinas, Rinne paid them no mind as she observed the Marina in her grasp. She was in pain and her whole body was trembling from the pressure her Laharos was exuding, Rinne supposed she overdid it?

A tingle of guilt hitting her, Rinne whispered.

"I am sorry…"

Her Angel was designed to hold down Spirits, holding back the pressure just enough to hurt these much weaker Marinas was difficult.

Apparently offended, the captive Marina threw her a glare full of anger. It was as if she was shouting, 'don't you dare pity on me.'

She had to let out a sigh. It seemed her enemies really were-

"Rinne, behind you!"

Rinne closed her eyes at Shido's warning. She didn't need him to know, but she was thankful regardless.

Behind her, the other half of Laharos on her left arm had dissolved into several strings, forming something akin to a cape which was just large enough to protect her from several energy blasts the Marinas sent.

A frown crossed her lips as she glanced at them. These Marinas immediately tried to attack her, while one of their own was in her mercy? When stray attacks could possibly hit the Marina she had captured?

That probably meant their individual lives meant nothing to them in the long run, and their pragmatism was comparable to Kurumi's… that thought made her a little sad.

Fully turning her body around, Rinne flexed and swung her left arm, and the small cape formed of threads dissolved to once again became deadly weapons - a very long, very fine, and very sharp collection of lyre strings.

Its range suddenly increased, none of the Marinas could react as the strings passed by them, and sliced some of their rifles into halves of wrecked firearms, much to their collective surprise.

"That was a warning."

As the strings once again combined together to become a ribbon and wrapped most of its length back on her left arm, Rinne lowered her voice to try and sound as threatening as possible.

"I will mutilate you if you don't back down."

To emphasize, Rinne clenched her right hand, and the Laharos ribbon wrapped on her right arm reacted by increasing the pressure upon the Marina it had captured, who was now held mid-air next to her.

"Ack…!"

Rinne observed the Marinas. None of them reacted, even in the slightest bit, to the captured Marina's pain.

Instead, they all smiled.

"Asking us to surrender? How naïve."

"Pfft. And you are supposed to be Nightmare's partner?"

"Go ahead and prove your mettle, if you can!"

The Ruler narrowed her eyes at the mockeries hurled at her.

"… _I suppose I should have guessed."_

"You asked for it."

Rinne flexed her left arm. She was going to give them a taste of [Dance with Destiny] then–

"Sandalphon!"

The shout made Rinne jolt in surprise.

All of a sudden, a large wave of purple energy struck the ground below the Marinas and caused the floor that was already damaged and covered in rabbles to suffer more destruction.

The subsequent explosion of Spirit mana enveloped the Marinas in the process; giving them no chance to even scream as they were at the ground zero of the blast.

The next moment, Shido dropped from above and landed right in front of her, his sword still glowing with Spirit mana. Her crimson eyes met Shido's gold, the man opened his mouth first.

"You okay?"

Out of reflex, Rinne's mouth spoke before she could think.

"Yes, thank you."

Shido nodded, before he turned to the area he blasted with Sandalphon earlier. Rinne followed suit, they didn't want any survivor to attack them while having their guard down.

It seemed Shido's attack had managed to blow a hole into the floor below, and as the dust settled, it appeared none of the Marinas struck were left standing – most of them were lying here and there around the hole, either unconscious or too injured to move.

Rinne was a bit alarmed at their injuries, but it seemed none of them died. That was a plus.

Shido too, let out a sigh of relief.

"Good thing you managed to distract them like that, Rinne. I was worried for those girls."

Rinne raised a brow slightly. For the Marinas?

"You were worried for them?"

At that moment, Shido's expression faltered, and he smiled awkwardly.

As if he was embarrassed, Shido scratched his cheek with his free hand.

"You know, when you said you are going to mutilate them… I am not sure whether you were serious or not, and I don't really want to see you… cutting them up. So I am glad I can end this fight before that happened."

Rinne was stunned at that.

" _Did… did he actually think-_

She could barely resist her urge to laugh.

"Shido… do you really think I was going to mutilate them?"

Much to her surprise, Shido actually fidgeted, and averted his eyes from her.

"Well… you didn't deny that you like bondage, so I wouldn't put it past you, I guess?"

Shido gestured to the now-squirming Marina next to them, who was still hold in-place by her right half of the Laharos.

For a moment, Rinne's mind halted. Did Shido really think-

Understanding Shido's thought process, Rinne burst into laughter.

"Pfft- ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

For some reason, Shido visibly shuddered at her laughter.

Was he actually scared? That made Rinne felt even more humored– goodness, was Shido always this innocent?

"Shi, Shido, I was only joking. Why on earth would you think I was serious?"

As if he was offended, Shido made a bemused expression.

"Jokes? Your jokes are about as practical as Kurumi's! How could I NOT take it seriously?!"

Rinne let out a chuckle. "Well, I AM her partner, and her habits might be contagious."

"I guess I forget about that for a minute there…" Shido sighed.

He rubbed the back of his head, as if conveying 'my bad'.

"You two are so different, but in the end, I suppose you two really are friends."

Those words, made Rinne happier than she would admit. She couldn't help but smile appreciatively at that.

"Thank you. I apologize if I scared you there, Shido."

All of sudden, Shido's golden, Spirit-influenced eyes widened, as if he was stunned.

Rinne raised a brow at that. Why was he surprised?

What could cause him to-

" _Oh."_

It came back to her. All the times Shido had blushed simply because a girl smiled earnestly to, for, and because of him.

It was actually very modest of him, and Rinne hated to admit it was one of her favorite parts from watching Shido's life through Web of Causality.

The thought made Rinne smile wider. Shido might be a man of impressive courage and determination at times, but in the end, he was still a teenager at heart.

Trying to hide his embarrassment, Shido cleared his throat.

"A-anyway… what are you going to do with her?"

Shido once again pointed to the Marina in her grasp.

Rinne's smile faltered. That's right, she had to explain.

"I am going to see her past."

Both Shido and the Marina she had restrained let out a shocked gasp.

"See her past? You could do that?"

Shido was a little too surprised than Rinne thought he would be.

He had seen Kurumi's powers and Nia's omniscience. This should be nothing new for him, wasn't it? Regardless, Rinne nodded.

"Back when we were inside the [Hraesvelgr] helicopter, do you remember how Kurumi and I were chatting without actually talking?"

Shido appeared confused for a moment, before his eyes widened, as if he just recalled it.

"Ah! I remember. So, you were really chatting?"

"Indeed, through these children."

Her arms gestured to the children in question - the Laharos wrapped around her arms.

"In simple terms, I can connect my body and mind with other people through physical contact with my Angel. It is why it is named [Fate Connection]."

To be more specific, Fate Connection linked Rinne's very own [String of Fate] with its target's to give Rinne control over theirs.

But Shido didn't know what String of Fate was, and explaining that one would take a while, so Rinne decided not to mention that yet.

"Fate… Connection…"

Shido appeared to be very perplexed for a moment, before his mouth opened again.

"Does your Spirit ability have something to do with fate, Rinne?"

That, surprised Rinne. Shido caught to that faster than she thought, although that was probably obvious with its name.

"Yes. Are you surprised?"

"I guess I am… is it going to be taxing on you?"

Rinne smiled. Shido was probably comparing her Fate Connection with Kurumi's [Tenth Bullet] – and under any other circumstances, that would be correct, to use your experience with other Spirits to measure another's power.

Not the case with her, though. Connecting Strings of Fate didn't require Spirit mana beyond its activation. Once connected, the effects would be permanent until the physical contact was severed.

"No, not really. But it will take some time and it is unsafe to do it in the middle of a battlefield, so I would prefer not to do it now."

The Ruler turned her gaze to the Marina which was still struggling in the bindings of her Laharos. With a breath, Rinne chanted.

"Laharos: Fate Connection."

The Marina suddenly widened her eyes, as if realizing what Rinne had just done.

Her eyes, which were defiant up to that point, suddenly became colored with something else.

Terror.

Not too long after, Marina's whole body abruptly went still, and her eyes slowly began to close, her consciousness gone.

"Rinne? What, what are you doing to her?"

Worry obvious in his tone, Shido almost moved to stop her, but he held himself back.

Guilt suddenly clawed its way to Rinne's heart.

Shido's response was only natural - to a stranger, it would appear Rinne was killing Marina.

" _I need to explain myself…!"_

After a deep breath, Rinne opened her mouth.

"My Fate Connection can establish two different types of connection. The one I used with Kurumi before, is named [ **Intertwining Souls** ] – and it allows to establish a two-way connection. I can send my thoughts and memories to Kurumi, and vice versa. This one, though…"

Rinne paused for a moment. Had the Marina gone to sleep yet?

Marina's eyes were completely closed, and her struggle had stopped. Her Laharos couldn't sense anymore resistance, either.

She decided it was okay to continue.

"…is called [ **Sacrificial Bonds** ]. It only establishes a one-way connection, so I don't really use them for much. I do need it to drain her Spirit mana and weaken her, though."

Shido was visibly relieved at her explanation.

"I knew you would never mercilessly kill her."

Rinne smiled in return. She was flattered, but she couldn't resist to make a quip at that.

After all, this was not the normal Shido either, so there was no reason to allow herself to just accept his compliments.

"Said the person who just a few minutes ago was thinking I would mutilate a bunch of girls for disregarding my warning. A little inconsistent, don't you think?"

Shido groaned. "You are not going to drop that anytime soon, are you?"

Rinne giggled. "No, I will drop it for now. Kurumis!"

Deciding enough was enough, Rinne moved the topic along.

Responding to her call, a group of Kurumis they had helped quickly gathered around the two of them.

"Help Shido protect me. I am going to see what exactly are these Marinas."

"Understood."

"Objective acknowledged."

"We won't let anyone touch you!"

The Kurumis quickly formed a defensive formation surrounding her and Shido, and Shido himself gripped his sword and stood next to her, eying their environment.

Even though the two of them had just taken down a group of Marinas, there were several more still fighting with groups of Kurumis at other sides of this battlefield, and ultimately, their actions didn't seem to change the progress of the battle.

Although Rinne was sure she could easily take down these Marinas even without Shido and Kurumis backing her up, she wasn't really sure she could do that without dealing casualties.

And honestly, she was sure that Shido would agree with her about avoiding to hurt anyone more than they needed to.

Thus, it would be more efficient to investigate these Marinas with her Fate Connection. She would find out their origins, first.

With that in mind, Rinne sent her Angel a command about the unconscious Marina in their grasp.

"Fate Connection..."

" _Show me our Intertwining Souls!"_

* * *

Kurumi was a little surprised at the turn of events.

As it turned out, these Marinas were not exactly small fries – though they employed a self-duplication abilities similar to her own, each of these Marinas possessed individual abilities higher than her clones.

Each of them had an Astral Dress, a Combat Realizer Suit, Wizard-class weapons, and their own Spirit power. When all of those were combined, the Marinas outmatched her own clones in strength.

Kurumi was forced to make use of more of her own 12 Bullet powers to penetrate their defenses and went this far in.

It didn't make it any less fun, however.

"Fufufu…"

Strolling through another dark tunnel, her flintlock and her musket ready in both of her hands, Kurumi giggled lightly.

Still, it was something she needed to give serious thoughts about.

The DEM had managed to enlist Spirits in their ranks… it was not something she had expected before.

As far as Kurumi knew from that wretch – [ **Takamiya Mio** ], just thinking about her name made Kurumi's blood boil – there should only be Ten Spirits.

Fragments of [Sephira Crystal] belonging to the First Spirit. Ten humans who accepted them to become Spirits, cursed existences likened to disasters for the world.

Yet–

" _Rinne carries within her, another Sephira Crystal."_

Kurumi had been shocked beyond belief when she learned of that, back when Kurumi encountered the Ruler Spirit.

After all, how could it possibly happen? For a Sephira Crystal just to appear like that?

Four years ago, Kurumi had tried to use her time powers to find out exactly how Rinne got her Sephira Crystal.

Unfortunately, she couldn't possibly hit that Crystal with her Tenth Bullet while it had become one with Rinne. In the end, Kurumi could only see Rinne's own life.

That five years ago, on August 3rd, **something** – the time travel trip later revealed it to be [ **Phantom** ] – gave Rinne a Sephira Crystal, and turned her into a Spirit, just like that.

That was all Kurumi could ascertain, apart from Rinne's human life. There were no more clues, so she couldn't try to investigate more about it.

But then, the information network made by her clones kept receiving rumors about DEM capturing more and more Spirits from all over the world, far more than Kurumi ever imagined.

Just how those came to be? What were those 'Spirits'?

Kurumi's information network hadn't extended much farther than Japan, which was why she couldn't investigate about those Spirits. Fortunately, Rinne could help her with foreign investigations.

Three years later – more or less one year ago – Rinne had informed her that these captured Spirits were not just a fraud, they were real. However, she was suspicious since these Spirits didn't seem to be well-guarded at all.

Rinne had claimed she could probably destroy entire facilities housing one of these Spirits without much fuss, and the only reason she didn't do so was because she had to keep her existence a secret.

Thus, Rinne concluded that among the many 'Spirits' DEM had captured, only Material A and B were securely protected. This matched the info Kurumi could attain, as well.

With no immediate action possible, Kurumi had decided investigating these 'extra Spirits' could wait until she could capture at least one of them.

That was why when the opportunity to capture arised, Kurumi had planned to attack this facility to retrieve Material B, who was said to be the second Spirit the DEM had captured after Honjou Nia.

However, much to her surprise, another Spirit was waiting here – these Marinas who claimed to be their security system – and it threw her calculation off.

Marina's existence presented more possibilities. One, DEM had somehow brainwashed the extra Spirits they had captured.

However, that didn't make any sense – that sorry excuse of a man, Isaac Westcott, didn't want to brainwash the Spirits.

All he wanted was to torture them, turn them into Inverse Spirits, and take away their Crystals.

Which opened a second possibility: DEM had been producing these extra Spirits, through their own means.

That was not something Kurumi would like to be true, but she had to consider the possibility.

It seemed more likely than not, since Kurumi couldn't sense an Angel from them, much like her own clones. If it was just counterfeit Spirits, Kurumi doubted that it was beyond DEM's abilities to manufacture.

If DEM had somehow managed to produce counterfeiters like these, then it was likely those so called 'captured Spirits' were in reality artificial Spirits they successfully created, and they made it seem like these counterfeiters were 'real' Spirits.

After all, the main reason DEM became one of the most successful company in the world was because it was one of the few who manufactured the Realizers, humanity's only defense against the Spirits.

If it became known that the company was actually creating those Spirits, they would lose a huge amount of support. As such, instead of keeping it a secret, they claimed their artificially-made Spirits were 'the Spirits they managed to capture' to boost their reputation.

It was only expected from a bunch of greedy liars claiming to be humans.

That being said, Kurumi highly doubted Material B was one of those counterfeiters. There would be no need to enforce such heavy defenses in this island if that was the case.

Yes, most likely, Material B was a similar existence to Rinne.

Phantom had at least obtained one Sephira Crystal in addition to the original ten, for Rinne. The one housing [Cassiel]. Who was to say, she didn't possess more?

If anyone in this world was able to create more Sephira Crystals, it was Takamiya Mio, and no one else. Why wouldn't that inhuman monster produce more Spirits?

Kurumi gritted her teeth.

That devil was probably creating more and more, even now. Rinne's existence was proof of it.

"...Che."

It was not the time for her to be sentimental.

There was a mission at hand, analyzing the situation was necessary, being emotional wasn't.

With a deep breath, Kurumi steeled her focus, and pressed on.

* * *

" _Ah… yes…"_

Among the three of her kind, one had approached her.

A little more… just a little closer, and she would be…

" _Come closer…"_

She couldn't wait anymore.

She was trapped in this dream for so long.

She wanted to be free.

" _Give my life back!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
> 
> In any case, thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation"!


	18. The Mechanical Angels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Kept you waiting, huh?
> 
> Let's get to chapter 18, "The Mechanical Angels" right away!

She could feel it.

The one who would free her, one of her own kind, was so close.

Little by little, step by step, she grew closer.

"…"

Even inside her dream, she could feel it.

But why was it…

_"Why are you so… sad?"_

There was no mistake. The approaching presence… was conflicted.

At her soul she was alone, but in her body she was also many.

Within her heart, hatred and anger drove her forward.

Fear and doubt tore her apart.

Yet, firmness and devotion kept her going.

Love and kindness continued to persist.

But there was no conclusion.

There was no way forward.

_"So you are also [her] victim…"_

The fate of her kind, was a cruel one.

To be hated, to be rejected, to be used.

All for the heinous crime of 'existing'.

It was all [that person]'s fault.

Yes, that's right…

_"Wasn't [she] responsible for my imprisonment as well?_

Remembering what that devil did…

Gave color to her colorless dream.

A color of rage.

She swore to all that was holy and sacred…

_"Once I am free… I would kill the one who began this destiny."_

* * *

Shido found himself staring.

He knew he was not supposed to do that – Rinne had trusted him and the Kurumis with guarding over her, while she was taking a peek into the past of a new Spirit they had encountered, Marina.

This floor chamber was still a battlefield. Apart from the small area they had secured, battles were carried out mercilessly. Shido could still hear gunfire in the distance, and his body was still tense, ready for any attack.

But no matter what he tried to do, he found himself just… staring at the Ruler Spirit's form.

Rinne stood in the midst of their small formation, with her deadly ribbon-threads – [Laharos], if Shido recalled it right – was still holding their unconscious hostage mid-air.

Although her eyes were closed, her expression was focused. Her posture, combined with her Astral Dress – which was more of a mini-dress than anything else, Shido recognized – it revealed just the right amount of skin and left enough for his imagination.

But, what attracted his attention the most was her lips. It was now forming a thin line, which reminded him of something…

Yes, it was familiar…

_"Ugh… get yourself together, Shido!_

He was supposed to be one charming her, not the other way around!

Wait… that was not how he should be, either. He was not supposed to act like this!

Goodness, the side effect of Spirit mana overflow on him was going to give him a headache.

_"Rio… when will this side effect subside?"_

Shido didn't want to sound like he was whining to his own 'daughter' – but he couldn't help it. He was not supposed to be a playboy!

Rio's reply was, surprisingly, a little hesitant.

_"Um… a good night's sleep should be enough. Papa's mind would recover itself in a state of rest. Papa would not be back to normal until Papa stops using Rio's powers, though…"_

_"Oh… well. Thanks, Rio."_

Shido wasn't sure that was a good or bad news – on one hand, merely sleeping seemed to be enough to recover. On the other hand, that meant, for the rest of this mission, he would be continuously acting like some sort of love-hungry boy.

That actually made him more anxious than the supposedly life-threatening mission he was in now. The presence of Rio, Kurumi, and Rinne by his side probably had something to do with that.

_"Oh well. Anything, to save the Spirits."_

That line of thought made him glance to the sleeping girl in Rinne's grasp. He heard the Spirit imprisoned in this island was codenamed [Material B].

So this girl, who called herself [Marina], was most likely not the one he came for. Still, that didn't mean he wouldn't help her.

Shido had to admit, he was more than a little curious – why would she fight for the DEM?

It was far from the first time that a Spirit had tried to antagonize or seriously hurt him.

It was not even the first time a Spirit had seriously tried to kill him – the Kurumis around him were a grim reminder.

But it was certainly the first time a Spirit had allied herself with the DEM. And that bothered him more than he would like to admit.

_"Papa?"_

The sudden inquisitive tone from Rio halted his thought process.

_"Yes?"_

_"Rio knows Papa, Mama and Kurumin say Marina is a Spirit… but Rio doesn't think so."_

It was surprising to hear Rio mentioning someone without any honorifics or a nickname, but what she was saying felt more pressing.

_"What do you mean, Rio? She definitely has an Astral Dress, and you can sense her Spirit mana, right?"_

Even he, who was only human – albeit one able to utilize Spirit powers – could feel it.

_"Papa is right, but… Rio cannot sense an Angel."_

Shido almost questioned his mental hearing.

_"Huh?"_

_"Rio cannot sense an Angel from her. Kurumin's copies has no Angel too, but the real Kurumin has one and Rio can sense their connection. However, Marina does not seem to have an Angel at all."_

_"R-really?"_

He was surprised. Rio could tell that much with her senses alone? And without manifesting, at that?

_"Yes, really! Spirits should have Angels. So, Rio thinks Marina isn't a Spirit. She feels like Rio's [Guardians], though."_

_"Guardians?"_

Then, Rio let out a mental 'oh' as if she just remembered something.

_"Oh right! Rio hasn't shown Papa yet. Guardians are dolls connected to Papa and Rio, created from our Spirit mana."_

That sounded... very different than what he had grown familiar with.

_"They obey Rio's command and Rio feels what they experience, but since Kurumin already has her copies helping Papa, Rio doesn't think Papa need the Guardians for now. Of course, Rio will summon them if Papa wants to. Does Papa want to see them?"_

Shido shook his head. Though he certainly wanted to see just what exactly these Guardians were, they had more pressing matters now.

_"Not now, Rio. You said the Marinas feel like these Guardians… then are you saying they are just dolls controlled by the Spirit?"_

_"Nope! Rio doesn't feel any Angel besides Mama's and Kurumin's around, so Rio can say for sure! Whoever is controlling Marina, it isn't a Spirit."_

Rio's voice was so sure and positive, and Shido found himself smiling at her cheerfulness despite himself. Still, it was something he needed to think about.

While Rio's deduction had no proof, Shido had no reason to doubt her Spirit senses. If anything, anything Rio felt necessary to inform him was probably something he needed to know.

If these Marinas were not controlled by a Spirit, then could it be a Wizard? Those [Realizers] used by the Wizards were basically magical technology, and even after seeing them for so many times, he didn't know its full potential.

But, if Rio was right, how could the Marinas possess Spirit mana and the Astral Dress?

_"Hummmm… Rio isn't sure about that… let's ask Mama!"_

_"Huh? But she is not finished yet…"_

Rio's words made Shido glance to Rinne.

As if on cue, Rinne suddenly snapped her crimson eyes open, almost startling him.

"Rin…ne?

"…"

Shido was about to ask what did Rinne saw in Marina's past, but the look in her face stopped him.

Rinne's gaze was very intense, her face oddly tense and nothing like her usual gentle expression.

His concern immediately kicked in. What happened?

"What's wrong, Rinne?"

"…I wish I could say 'nothing' but that would be a lie."

Shido was almost shocked hearing those words. The venom in her voice was so abrupt it made his skin crawl.

"… _Rinne just saw the Marina's past, did she? Is that the cause?"_

He hesitated for only a second, but he decided to bite the bullet.

"What did you see?"

Rinne didn't respond for a moment.

"I saw something… unforgiveable."

Her fist was clenched, and in sync, the Laharos ribbons around her were twitching.

She was angry at what she had seen. That much Shido was sure.

Much to his surprise though, Rinne suddenly let out a sigh – as if she was trying to calm herself.

"These Marinas… they are not Spirits. The girls we face are just remote bodies being controlled by something else."

Shido tried to hide his amazement. He did believe Rio, but for Rinne to confirm it as soon as Rio just mentioned the idea was a bit too much for a coincidence.

"Ara, so they are counterfeiters after all?"

The small group of Kurumis encircling them seemed to be more curious than surprised, and each of them looked to Rinne as if they had predicted this.

He didn't understand what they meant though, so he turned to one of them.

"Counterfeiters? What do you mean?"

The Kurumi in question shrugged.

"It means they are nothing more than fakes created based on us, Spirits. Artificial Spirits, you can say."

"Artificial…? Is that even possible?"

Another Kurumi waved her hand, as if he just asked something stupid.

"Ara… don't be so surprised, Shido-san. In a technical sense, even [we] – Kurumis who are created from the memory of the person known as 'Tokisaki Kurumi' are not true Spirits. We are just expendable spawns created from the Angel known as [Zafkiel]."

Shido narrowed his eyes. He knew Kurumi had little value for the lives of her clones.

But for the Kurumi clones themselves, to claim each other as expendable was…

Just as he was about to open his mouth though, somebody beat him to it.

"Kurumi. Say anything about yourself being expendable again and I **will** hurt you."

Rinne suddenly cut into the conversation, and with a tone that Shido had never heard coming from her before.

Her bright red eyes were narrowed and her voice was strangely monotonous – it was as if Rinne was trying to suppress her rage beneath.

_"Mama…"_

Rio's voice in his head calmed him down, but even she was lacking the usual mirth and energy in her voice.

Luckily, it seemed that the Kurumis, particularly the one who was the target of Rinne's anger, had realized her mistake.

That Kurumi's face instantly became nervous and she fidgeted – were it not for the situation, Shido might have said it was adorable.

"I apologize, Rinne…"

Rinne nodded in acceptance, and her expression softened somewhat.

"…It's fine. It's just… I think I had enough of seeing people being used as tools."

Shido instantly understood what she was implying, and he was sure the Kurumis around him did too.

He decided to ask again.

"Is it about the Marinas?"

The Ruler Spirit sighed. It was clear his suspicion was spot on.

"Yes. This girl… these Marinas, they are created just to be used. That is already terrible, but their method of creation…"

Rinne paused, scrunching her face in disgust.

"They are using the Spirit they locked up here to breed the Marinas."

Shido was sure his eyes widened to saucers, but before that disturbing thought process continued, Rinne continued, her tone still sickened.

"No, not in the way you are thinking. The Spirit imprisoned in this island… Material B as they called her, she is special. And the Deus Ex Machina scientists are taking advantage of her."

That didn't really explain anything, but at least the mental image of a Spirit being used as a sex slave had faded from his mind.

"What do you mean, Rinne?"

Rinne didn't immediately answer him. Instead, she turned toward the hole on the chamber's floor which Shido created using Tohka's Sandalphon earlier.

She eyed it for a few moments, before she continued.

"I don't know if this Spirit is fundamentally different from us or if it is because of her Angel's powers, but her circumstances are very special."

"Circumstances?"

It was one of the Kurumis who asked the same question Shido had wanted to ask.

"She was captured four years ago, one year after they had captured Material A, or Honjou Nia-san."

Shido nodded. Nia said she was captured five years ago, meaning she was probably the first Spirit DEM had ever managed to capture.

"Unlike Honjou-san, she is currently in a state of a self-inflicted coma. When the DEM tried to capture her, she had inflicted something upon herself, putting herself into a state of deep sleep."

He raised his brows at Rinne's words. Self-inflicted coma? Deep sleep?

_"Does that mean the Spirit cannot be awakened?"_

Shido was about to ask, but once again, another Kurumi was faster at voicing their thoughts.

"Ara, I see it now… I assume no matter what the DEM tried, the sleeping beauty didn't wake up?"

Rinne turned and nodded to the Kurumi who said that, before continuing.

"You are right, Kurumi. We know that Isaac Westcott's intention with the Spirits is to take away their Crystals after Inversing them through torture or something along those lines. Since this Spirit couldn't be awakened, she couldn't be Inversed. However…"

The Ruler Spirit grimaced.

"During their torture attempts, they found several 'biological values' which didn't exist in Material A."

Shido already didn't like where this was going.

"By biological values, you mean?"

Fortunately for him, yet another Kurumi had asked the question he wanted to say.

"Her body has an extreme survivability. Far, far beyond yours or mine, or even Kotori's, Kurumi."

"Eh?"

He couldn't suppress his surprise this time. Survivability? Something like Kotori's… no, [Camael]'s regenerative abilities?

Rinne paused to take a deep breath, as if she was easing them into what she was about to say.

"According to the… videos I saw in this Marina's memories, even when Material B's body parts such as her limbs, internal organs, or even her head was separated from her body, not only she was still alive, those body parts continued to survive."

Shido could feel his stomach began to churn at the mental image.

How's that even possible? Sure, he had seen Kurumi literally rewinding time to heal her sliced off arm, and Camael's powers had allowed him to survive his heart being destroyed, but he doubted losing his head was something even he could survive.

Nia's torture at the hands of DEM had involved things from his nightmares, like splitting her head in half to insert that microchip, but DEM had ensured Nia would live through that using their Realizer technologies.

However, to survive being outright mutilated like that was probably beyond even what most Spirits could do.

Even the Kurumis sounded shocked, and one of them voiced their thoughts.

"Are you sure about what you saw, Rinne?"

Rinne nodded grimly.

"There is no mistake. This Marina had watched several recorded videos of those operations for…"

The Ruler frowned.

"…recreational purposes. And even she couldn't recognize the appearance of the person who was being mutilated as human anymore, but it was definitely the Spirit locked up in this place."

Shido wasn't sure which one made him sicker, the fact that the DEM was cruel enough to torture the Spirit they captured so much to the point of non-recognition, or the fact that this Marina apparently **enjoyed** watching those.

The Kurumis however seemed intent on thinking faster than him, and one of them already pressed the conversation forward.

"Doesn't that mean Material B is just a miserable mess of flesh at this point?"

"It isn't the case. She is still alive and she simply regenerated her lost body parts. Which is why the DEM could repeat the process over and over."

Another Kurumi interjected with an equally disgusted tone. "Well, Spirit mana does recover after a period of time. If they schedule it right, they can do that regularly."

"It doesn't end there." Rinne's face once again morphed into that of anger. "They were just as surprised as we are about the Spirit's extreme survivability, so they studied her body even further than they did with Honjou-san.

"Wait a minute!"

Shido had to interject. He had no way to keep up with this conversation if he just listened.

"What does this have anything to do with the Marinas?"

He had expected some sort of answer, but Rinne instead held up a finger at him, as if she was reprimanding him.

"We are getting there, Shido. I know this is… uncomfortable, but you need to hear the whole thing for it to make sense."

Her tone was soft, and Shido knew Rinne was right, but it didn't really help his discomfort at all.

However, it did remind him to steel his resolve. He had to hear this if he wanted to save them, that was for sure.

"Go on."

Rinne smiled a bit at him, before her expression turned serious again.

"Thank you. After a few months of research, the scientists discovered that, the reason behind the Spirit's survivability was because her entire body passively absorbed energy from the [Territory] they used to confine and operate on her."

"I see..." A Kurumi put a finger under her chin. "That explains why her mutilated parts could continue to stay alive even after being separated from the main body, the source of mana."

"But," Another Kurumi interrupted, "that certainly is unusual. While we have [City of Devouring Time] and Rinne can use [Fate Connection] to absorb lifeforce and magic energy, this Spirit does so while completely unconscious."

"Let me guess." Yet another Kurumi interjected, crossing her arms. "The Marinas came from these mutilations. Am I correct?"

The very thought of that actually recoiled Shido even more than anything said earlier.

"What? How do you even come up with that idea?!"

"Ara, it is only logical. Even if mutilated, those body parts are that of a Spirit's. If it could absorb mana to stay alive, then it is just a matter of collecting enough to recombine them into a human-sized doll."

The Kurumi in question sounded disgusted, but her face was otherwise calm.

Shido supposed what Kurumi was saying did make some sort of sense, but how!? Just how!

"Such a thing!"

"Unfortunately…"

His words interrupted, Shido watched as Rinne turned toward the unconscious Marina in the grasp of her Laharos, her eyes now saddened rather than angry.

"Kurumi is right. These Marinas are created like that. The reconstructed bodies lack consciousness, but all the DEM need to do left were to modify them and install their bodies with Realizers to be used as remote puppets."

Shido was sure his jaw had dropped by the time Rinne finished. He could barely believe what his ears were hearing.

He supposed for such gruesome things to happen were not impossible – both Spirits and Realizers were not things he could understand with conventional logic.

But…

_"How could anyone even bring themselves to do something like this?!"_

Shido now understood Rinne's anger. No, more than that, his own emotions were already boiling his blood – even his Spirit mana was restless.

He could feel his breathing became heavier with each second – he could even feel heat from within his body. It was a familiar flame, belonging to his sister…

_"Papa!"_

Rio's voice halted everything.

_"Rio knows Papa's feelings. Papa is angry. Mama too. But don't be like this… it makes Rio sad."_

_"Rio…"_

Her voice was akin to voice of reason, and a wail of emotion. He could feel the pleading behind each word.

Hearing it almost made Shido's anger burn out completely, because when he thought about it...

_"…Yes, you are right."_

It was inhuman and monstrous for the DEM to conduct something like this. It was only human for him to react with disgust and anger.

But he shouldn't lose himself in it, either. He should channel his emotion to do what he should do.

To save someone.

_"Thank you… again, Rio."_

Shido could not see a smile forming in his mind, but he could feel it.

His determination renewed, he turned toward Rinne.

"Rinne, what should we do to stop the Marinas?"

As if she was sensing his feelings, Rinne's expression turned serious again as she returned his gaze.

"Fundamentally, these Marinas are remote puppets controlled through Realizers, which receive orders wirelessly from a network system. Even if their bodies are technically 'alive' – they don't have their own will. As such–"

One of the Kurumis interjected. "If we destroy the Realizer within their bodies, it would instantly disable them."

Rinne nodded. "Exactly, Kurumi. Additionally, their network system needs a highly advanced computer to function as a server for managing a large number of bodies. If we can disable that server, all of the Marinas will go down with it."

Another Kurumi grinned. "And I suppose you already knew where the server is, in this facility?"

Rinne only smiled and nodded at her.

"Kurumi, all of you should remain here and continue the battle with the Marinas to distract them. As of now, they don't know that we know about their weakness, and it's better to keep it that way. Shido and I will leave through that hole to attack their server."

Rinne pointed toward the large hole on the floor Shido had made earlier with Sandalphon, when he took down a group of Marina with a single powerful slash.

The Kurumis didn't bother with a response this time. For a moment they glanced to each other, nodded once as if they understood their roles, and suddenly dispersed away like a group of ninjas, leaving Shido and Rinne by themselves.

The Ruler Spirit waved at them as they left.

"Now then… Shido, are you ready?"

As Marina's unconscious body was gently placed on the floor by Laharos, Rinne asked that question while her back was turned.

It was a little surprising to hear that from her, but Shido didn't even need to think about his answer.

"Let's go!"

Rinne seemed satisfied with that answer, as she immediately levitated toward the hole leading downwards.

Mentally preparing himself, Shido took a breath. He should go after her–

_"Papa, let's transform."_

Rio's call halted him.

_"Eh?"_

Shido was actually surprised. Why did Rio ask him to…?

In any case, he should stop Rinne first.

"Rinne! Wait!"

The Ruler Spirit in question stopped just before she was about leap, and turned to him with a confused expression.

"What's wrong, Shido?"

For once, Shido was a bit thankful that the communication with Kannazuki's [Hraesvelgr] – and by extension, Kotori's [Fraxinus] was cut off inside the lower part of this facility.

That way, he didn't have to whisper about Rio to keep her a secret from the other Spirits beside Kotori.

"It's Rio. She is asking me something…"

As he trailed off, Rinne had an understanding expression on her face, and waited. Shido smiled at that.

Now, back to his 'daughter'…

_"Transform? But if we do that, the pipes of [Gabriel] we left in the above floors will disappear, and we cannot empower the Kurumis spread in this facility anymore."_

Even now, Shido was still partially connected to the Gabriel pipes above inside the chamber with the speaker room, ready to spread Miku's [Solo] and [March] again when needed.

_"That is true, but Papa and Rio should focus to helping Mama, too! If Papa, Mama, and Rio succeed, then the Marinas would also stop, right? We have to give it our all!"_

Her words were childish, but Shido had to admit, Rio had a point with that.

_"But… which Angel would be the most useful to support Rinne?"_

Judging from what he saw earlier, Rinne's Angel was deadly in close quarters combat. If he charged on recklessly, he would probably only find himself sliced up by Laharos.

Wait, then that meant…

Shido could feel his lips grinning in anticipation.

_"I have an idea."_

_"What is it? Rio wants to know!"_

Instead of answering, Shido closed his eyes to focus himself – focusing his whole thoughts toward his Spirit powers.

_"Ohhh! Papa is amazing! Alright then, Rio will do it!"_

Once more, he could feel something akin to large ripples being formed on a giant lake within himself. A ripple of 'awakening' on a lake of 'power'

" **[Aspect of the Sephiroth], [Angel of Extinction]**!"

* * *

Light enveloped his vision.

Shido wanted to chuckle. So he was right – this peculiar sensation was something he wouldn't be able to get used to.

Though, it seemed that what they say about the 'third time being the charm' was true.

He felt as if he was hyperaware of his entire self, now fully comprehending what was happening.

_"I..."_

His own voice felt like an illusion. It felt like it came from a far distance.

_"Shido…"_

Another voice came to him. It was not his own, and it was not Rio's.

_"Everything that makes me whole..."_

It was monotonous, yet full of emotion.

Certainly, such a voice could only belong to Origami.

It was at this exact moment–

_"Now I entrust it to you."_

Origami's presence assaulted him.

How could he describe it?

Tohka and Miku were both very warm. They were full of energy, and their presence alone made him smile.

Origami was different. Whereas Tohka and Miku were warm like the sunlight, Origami felt cold.

It wasn't uncomfortable though. It was just enough to make him feel fresh - like the cool winds brushing his face in a comfortable night.

Moreover, she wasn't energetic either. Instead, she had a calming presence, similar to a lake which reflected the lights of the stars above.

That tranquility was rather ironic, Shido knew Origami could be very hotheaded when she wanted to.

There was only one thing about her which felt the same as the previous two.

Origami wanted him.

Possessiveness.

Her presence was hugging him tight and not letting him go.

Shido supposed he was fine with that.

* * *

When 'his' vision returned, 'he' immediately looked down.

'His' body was no longer that of a high-school boy, but that of a high-school girl instead.

Pure white dress, resembling that of marriage ceremonial outfit for the bride. Her skirt was like a blooming white flower, matching the dress.

"[Ehyeh]…"

'His' voice was now hers, chanting the name of the Astral Dress she wore.

Try as he might, just like before, he couldn't feel anything out of place.

Yet he waited. Shido was sure Origami's thoughts had something to comment on.

"…I see. We have become one at last, Shido."

Her voice was monotonous as usual, but there was a distinct smugness in it.

Almost immediately, her gloved hand reached to grope her own breasts.

Shido instantly took control of their shared body back and kept the hands away.

_"I really should have known better than to let that happen."_

_"Hee hee! Rio is sure now! Rio would get along well with everyone!"_

Shido didn't know whether he was amused or exasperated. On one hand, Rio getting along with his friends was good.

But for Rio coming into that conclusion after saying his friends were weirdos was… not.

Gah, he could think about it later. Looking at the present situation, it would be better if he allowed Origami's instincts to control their body now.

Origami was far more skilled at using [Metatron] than him, after all.

_"Yeah, I think that is the best course of action- eh?"_

Much to his surprise, the lips of their shared body suddenly smiled.

"Thank you for putting your faith in me."

Origami spoke to no one, but the gratitude and the emotion was clearly intended for him.

It was a simple, natural action even for Origami, but to him now, it felt like a shock.

It was the first time a Spirit he had channeled actually responded to his thoughts.

_"H-how? Rio, is it supposed to be like this?"_

_"Yup! Papa is finally getting used to Rio's powers!"_

Shido felt he didn't share Rio's enthusiasm at all.

_"But… Tohka and Miku didn't communicate with me at all."_

_"Hum, does Papa not understand?"_

He let out a mental equivalent of a confused sound at Rio's question. She took that as a sign to continue.

_"Rio's [Aspect of the Sephiroth] recreates a Spirit's Angel and personality using the Spirit mana and the emotions channeled through Papa. So, while it is based on Papa's friends, it is not the actual person."_

Shido was a little surprised at Rio's calm, yet systematic explanation. It was quite easy to understand, contrary to what he had expected.

Since earlier, even though he was the one using this power, he only had a vague idea about how Rio's powers worked.

Kotori and Reine might be able to understand much more than him through simple observation alone, though.

_"So… Tohka and Miku earlier, and this Origami… they are just copies?"_

_"Rio wouldn't say that. Even if they are just recreations, they are still friends for Papa, right?"_

Those words hit closer to home than Shido would like to admit.

_"Yes. But that still doesn't explain why Origami can now directly communicate with me."_

_"It's because Papa is now closer to accept Papa's powers. Before, transforming with Rio's ability was something new for Papa, and it takes time for both the body and the mind to accept it. Papa can tell, right? The recreation of personality before wasn't perfect."_

Shido had to pause. Was it imperfect?

Tohka seemed to act like how she was back when Shido first met her.

Miku's bickering with Kurumi didn't seem out of character, either.

If anything about them felt out of place, it was… wait, could it be?

_"Wait… are you saying that's why Tohka didn't seem to realize that she is occupying the same body as me?"_

_"Bingo! Her sense of self was not fully recreated, which was why her impulses were more of an instinct for Papa."_

Shido supposed that would also explain why Miku was able to instantly tell she was using his body. He channeled her after Tohka, so his body and mind had been closer to accepting Rio's ability then.

And since this was the third time, he had adapted even more, so Origami's recreated personality would be even closer to an actual personality. Enough to outright identify his thoughts, it seemed.

"Exactly, Shido. That's why I am now in ecstasy for being able to share my everything with you."

Shido suddenly realized that their shared body, had been shaking a little. Origami was trying to take control their hands again to… touch. In places.

Uhh, Origami… could it wait until later?

Hum… we could.

"We still have a mission, I suppose."

Calmly stating her resolution, Shido finally allowed Origami's thoughts moved their shared body.

However, as soon as they turned around, Shido could feel Origami holding her breath as soon as their eyes met with the Rinne's.

"Ruler… Sonogami Rinne."

For some reason, discomfort filled Origami's thoughts. Shido could feel it almost as if it was his own.

_"Origami, you are…"_

There was something akin to… dread, and anxiety coming from Origami's thoughts.

It was actually similar to his own.

_"So Kotori was right…"_

Shido recalled Kotori's words last night, that he was not the only one feeling some sort of instinctual fear from Rinne when in her Spirit form.

Kotori was only able to confirm it for herself and Origami, but the others were possibly feeling the same thing.

It was honestly a worrying thought, but for now, it was not the time to think about it.

_"I understand what you feel, Origami. But I can promise you, Rinne is not our enemy."_

Origami didn't immediately respond to him, but he knew she would listen to him.

Meanwhile, on the other end a polite smile was plastered on Rinne's face, oblivious to their internal conflict.

"I am looking forward to fighting alongside you, Tobiichi-san."

Shido could feel that Origami was considering to ignore her courtesy, but she eventually relented.

"I cannot say the feeling is mutual… but for Shido, let's work together."

Origami made her displeasure clear, but even with that Rinne kept her smile.

The Ruler simply turned and gestured toward the hole on the ruined floor.

"Then, shall we?"

"Ah."

And with that, the two Spirits resumed their mission.

* * *

Kurumi was starting to feel annoyed.

From the midpoint of this facility, Kurumi had breached about nine floors down, and searched through the numerous tunnels and large chambers of each floor. However, apart from Marinas, she had encountered nothing else but darkness.

There was nothing like the upper half of the facility – at least the upper floors had rooms for documents, chambers for weapons, rooms for officers, and the like.

But here, there were only hallways and tunnels without light, and large, empty chambers that were almost designed like a battlefield.

At this rate, she would not be able to find either of her objectives… the mind-manipulation Realizer for Rinne, and Material B's prison for Ratatoskr.

_"Though with her Fate Connection, it seems a lot easier for Rinne to find either by herself."_

A few minutes ago, one of her clones had killed itself to send its memories back to her.

The clone came into contact with Rinne and Shido at the midway point of this facility after she had received information from Rinne, who in turn received the info from using Fate Connection on a Marina.

Information about Material B, and the Marinas.

Kurumi found it ironic. This clone who committed suicide was just reprimanded by Rinne about not being expendable. And yet she killed herself without much hesitation.

_"Maybe I should revive it for Rinne to punish later."_

The thought amused Kurumi more than she thought it would. Still, the memory she received from the clone was useful and important, so she supposed its suicide was not a waste.

Not only it had confirmed her thoughts about the DEM and the counterfeit Spirits, Kurumi felt information like these were something she simply had to know.

After all, the creation of Marina was not something that should be allowed to happen in this world.

Rinne and Shido's rage were more than justified – even Kurumi herself couldn't possibly stoop as low as the DEM, to torture a Spirit just for their own gains.

She would not hesitate to kill or devour one of her own kind, but it was more of a mercy kill than anything else – killing a Spirit meant sparing her fellow victims of fate, after all.

Kurumi could swear to herself she would not torture them for any conceivable reason, let alone exploit them like the DEM did. Finding out about this had given her more motivations to utterly destroy the DEM forces, so she was quite thankful.

That being said, it was still quite a chore to breach nine floors without finding anything of significance in relation to her actual objectives. Kurumi expected nothing less from a facility as massive and as well-defended as this, but it didn't make it any less frustrating.

_"What should I do? I am being thorough with my search, but as it stands, it will take a needlessly long amount of time before I actually find anything."_

It seemed she had to predict where either of them could be located.

Realizers advanced enough to manipulate the human mind could not possibly be located on a normal weapon chamber. Most likely, such a piece of technology would be put inside a laboratory of some sorts.

Similarly, from the info Rinne received, Material B had been extensively operated upon to create the Marinas. Such operations should be conducted somewhere extremely well-equipped, and most likely, a laboratory.

_"It is an easy conjecture, but…"_

It didn't give her any clues about where they could be located. She had to think about it another way.

"…"

Then it came back to her.

The last time the DEM had successfully captured a Spirit was… when Yatogami Tohka was captured back in the Tennou Festival.

_"Tohka-san was locked up in the highest point of their building…"_

It was an honestly rather idiotic choice of positioning, since being placed there would mean it was most vulnerable to an aerial strike.

But, on the other hand, if she was to reverse that analogy to an underground facility…

_"Material B would be located at the bottommost point of this place."_

Kurumi honestly wanted to dismiss that thought.

It was a thought process that only the naïve could come up with; 'the farthest place of the entrance would be the safest from invaders' but anyone with experience in actual combat would say such a thing was a complete nonsense.

But knowing him… that man, Isaac Westcott, who was responsible for everything the DEM had ever done and built, she wasn't sure if her enemy was operating under the conventional definition of 'logic'.

Which meant, it was actually possible for Material B to be locked down there. The question was…

_"Should I check it out?"_

Skipping each and every floor to reach the bottom would not take much of her 'time' but she would delve headfirst into enemy territory, and possibly get herself cornered by the enemy. And if Material B wasn't there, it would have been pointless.

And even if Material B was there, there was no guarantee Kurumi could wake it up from a self-inflicted coma. If the DEM had not managed to wake her up in the four years, Kurumi had little chance to do so.

_"But then again…"_

There were things only Spirits could do, and there were things only 'Tokisaki Kurumi' could do.

Her guns aimed to the floor she was standing on, Kurumi allowed her lips to smirk.

"I suppose taking a few risks once in a while is not bad."

* * *

_"…?"_

The one who would free her, the Spirit who would free her, its presence grew closer in a sudden.

_"What happened…?"_

Before this moment, the Spirit was moving at a slow pace, and that was fine.

Step by step, so long as it was safe, she would eventually reach this place.

But now… as if she had an epiphany, the Spirit suddenly decided to increase her pace.

Objectively, that was better for her… the faster the Spirit reached her, the sooner she would awaken from this dream.

But, she didn't want this Spirit to be hurt just for her freedom. Rushing ahead meant one would be more vulnerable, and easier to trap.

She knew that better than anyone. It was the mistake which led her to this prison, after all.

However, there was nothing she could do for this Spirit.

Nothing at all. Not while she was still trapped here.

All she could do was to pray, for this Spirit to reach her in one piece.

The thought was painfully frustrating.

_"I hope you won't suffer the same fate as me…"_

Mayuri wished her prayers could sound a little less hollow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, that's it! How was the chapter? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
> 
> Finally, FINALLY Mayuri had made her debut! I am sure if she had some sort of medium awareness, she would be chewing me out already for keeping her in the background for 18 chapters, not to mention her rather gruesome predicament as Material B.
> 
> With that said… thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	19. Bringing Light into the Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salutations! It's almost the end of the already complete chapters in fanfiction.net!
> 
> Now then, this chapter and the ones coming up next will be about Mayuri… needless to say, it is going to be a bit packed. Are you ready? Here is Chapter 19, "Bringing Light into the Darkness"

Mayuri felt her heartbeat raise, ever so slightly.

It was a strange, familiar feeling. One which she almost forgot.

Ever since she had been trapped in her dreams, her heartbeat had never raised or dropped.

It had remained constant without fail throughout the last four years.

Its unchanging nature eventually made her wonder if it even existed in the first place.

" _But now…"_

Slowly, gradually, the beat in her heart grew, faster than it had ever been for a long time.

" _Is it my joy and excitement, anticipating for my release from this unlife?"_

" _Is it my fear and nervousness, heeding for my uncertain future?"_

" _Is it my anger and resentment, thirsting for my revenge?"_

" _Is it my curiosity and loneliness, seeking for my savior?"_

The one who could free her was so near now – so much, it felt aching.

It was strange. Hope was such a strange feeling to ponder.

" _If it is this close…"_

She couldn't do anything to help this Spirit. Not with her actions, anyway.

" _Then my voice alone could reach you…"_

And that was enough for her.

" _ **I hope, you can begin to hope, too.**_ _"_

It was the least she could do. Mayuri owed this Spirit, that much.

* * *

"…Ara?"

Kurumi halted, immediately turning her gaze around.

There was nothing in this particular dark hallway. She had stalled the Marinas in the upper and the current floors with her clones, and she was careful to ensure none had followed her.

" _What was that?"_

She was sure she had heard a voice… and it was the familiar feeling it brought that made Kurumi sure it was not just her imagination.

It was similar to that of a certain woman Kurumi had hated… the enigmatic Spirit codenamed [Phantom], one who called herself 'mother of Spirits'.

As in, it was heard directly inside her head as opposed to reaching her ears, something which was could even be called its signature quality.

" _But this one… felt different."_

Phantom's voice felt distorted, and it brought discomfort just hearing it. It could not be recognized as belonging to a human. This one, on the other hand…

" _I couldn't make out the words completely, but I think I heard… 'hope'?"_

The quality of this voice she heard just now was far from uncomfortable. It was unmistakably feminine, full of mirth and warmth – and Kurumi was surprised at how pleasant it was.

Several questions popped in her head, but her quick mind was able to formulate an answer.

" _It is probably her… [Material B]."_

It was a bit of a stretch of logic, but it definitely wasn't a coincidence Kurumi began hearing voices just after she had skipped sixteen floors without searching them in order to reach the bottom.

If her hunch was correct, she was getting closer to one of her two objectives.

"…"

Kurumi didn't fancy herself as some sort of heroine of justice coming to rescue a princess in captive, but for some reason, it was an appropriate analogy to describe her situation now.

The only thing about herself which made that metaphor inappropriate was that Tokisaki Kurumi was a villain…

"… _ **No, don't. Don't hate yourself.**_ _"_

"…!"

The voice was heard again, and this time, it made Kurumi jump.

"What…? You can hear me?"

She expected a reply to confirm her suspicions, but there was no response.

The silence made her frown. It was the same as earlier, but this time, it was much clearer.

" _Don't hate yourself… she said?"_

That was so ridiculous, she wouldn't even dignify that thought. She wasn't… she wasn't that kind of tragic villain.

In any case, it was definitely a Spirit. Very likely to be Material B, though it wasn't certain. It could also be a trick, done by the Marinas. Still, no matter which, she definitely shouldn't be standing still.

" _I must make haste, regardless."_

Inhaling a deep breath to focus her mana, Kurumi once again blasted the floor with the full power of her dual guns to force a pathway.

The now repetitive sound of her bullets tearing through steel rang in her ears, and quickly, Kurumi looked down on her supposed entrance.

"Ara?"

The hole was considerably deeper than the ones she had made above. Kurumi couldn't see very clearly what was on the floor below.

Instantly, her mind went to think. That meant, the floor below had a different construction model than the ones she had bypassed earlier; its ceiling was thicker and had more mass.

" _Then the purpose of this floor might be different than the ones above…"_

Kurumi braced herself. 'Look before you leap,' the saying went, but there was also time and situation to consider.

If she didn't immediately jump, then the Marinas down below would be ready to ambush her around the hole she had made.

Therefore, it was better to jump now and leave them with no time to prepare.

Her flintlock and musket ready in both hands, Kurumi leaped.

" _Now, let's see what kind of floor this is…"_

She was inside the hole for almost three seconds before light bathed her; the first bright room after several floors of dark, empty hallways and chambers.

It was another chamber, though its sheer size surprised her – it was probably five times larger than any of the one above, which was quite large indeed – since one of the above chambers would have been enough to house [Ratatoskr]'s airship [Fraxinus].

As expected, there were proportionately far more Marinas surrounding her in this chamber than in the floors above, their energy swords and guns ready at their hands. Their expressions were generally identical – an angry scowl, as if they were not expecting her to breach this far.

"This is as far as you go, [Nightmare]!"

One of them shouted, but Kurumi ignored them when she noticed there was a large, gate-like entrance on all sides of the chamber; far to the front, to the right, to the left, and behind, with herself being roughly at the center of the chamber.

All four entrances were blocked with green forcefields formed of [Territories] though – and it seemed to be tough ones. She doubted she could destroy those on her own when severely outnumbered from all sides.

There was also… a deactivated long-belt conveyor system? It stretched across the length of the entire room, connecting the entrance on the left to the entrance on the right, though which direction the conveyor belt was supposed to go was beyond her.

Kurumi narrowed her eyes. What use would a conveyor belt serve for the [Deus Ex Machina Industries]?

" _Wait… conveyor belts are used for… manufactory."_

It was moments like these Kurumi hated her own quick and imaginative mind.

The conveyor belt was used to deliver the bodies of Marinas. Probably from the laboratory where Material B was imprisoned and harvested, body parts were transported through this conveyor belt into another facility to be arranged into a Marina and installed with Realizers.

If that was the case, the gigantic but mostly empty chamber made sense – in the unlikely possibility the Spirit they imprisoned broke free, there wouldn't suffer too much damage if they made a room large enough for a Spirit to battle comfortably without property damage.

It was efficient and careful. Kurumi had to give Westcott that. It didn't make things any less repulsive… that man really viewed Material B as nothing more than a resource to be exploited.

Still, she supposed that was that. If her assumption about the purpose behind the conveyor belt was correct, that would mean both of her objectives were close.

No matter which way she went, she would either reach Material B's prison or a Realizer laboratory, the former containing the Spirit she wished to free for Shido and the Ratatoskr, the latter likely storing the mind-operating Realizer for Rinne's purposes.

" _Now, which way should I go first?"_

Either way, she would be killing a lot of things. How joyful.

"Come, [Mes]!"

In an instant, shadow splashed out like waves on the sea from under her dress – and once more, dozens upon dozens, hundreds followed by hundreds of her past selves emerged from them.

Kurumi smirked. "Show them exactly what the word [Nightmare] means."

And with that single command, her army of clones began attacking the surrounding Marinas, their guns blazing. However, she was far from done.

"[Zafkiel]! [Aleph]! [Zayin]!"

The golden clock which embodied her powers appeared behind her, obedient as ever. The time acceleration bullets manifested in her flintlock and the time freezing bullets loaded themselves into her musket.

Time for the banquet to begin-

" _ **Come. You are there, right? Just outside my prison."**_

Kurumi widened her eyes, but she didn't halt her movements. She didn't need full concentration to multitask, after all.

Immediately, she began firing her Aleph bullets to her clones – accelerating their movements – and her Zayin bullets to the Marinas – freezing them in place.

"You can sense me and send your thoughts to me. What else can you do, Material B?"

She tried to taunt the source of this voice, but there was no response, again. A small frown found its way to her lips. Who exactly was speaking to her?

" _ **You are curious, now. Are you trying to deduce my identity?**_ _"_

That, was spot on, Kurumi had to admit that. Could this Spirit hear her thoughts?

…No. If the Spirit could sense thoughts, then there was no need to ask that question.

" _ **The curiosity persists, I see. Well, I am not sure if this will answer your questions specifically, but I can't see nor hear you.**_ _"_

That much Kurumi could already tell. Material B was supposed to be imprisoned and in coma, after all.

However, it was fact the owner of this voice could detect her and could respond to her, to an extent. But, how?

" _ **Anticipation… and**_ _ **curiosity, still? Strange. What questions are you pondering about, I wonder?"**_

She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. This Spirit was beginning to test her patience.

"… _ **Eh, are you frustrated? …No, please be patient, I will keep guessing.**_ _"_

"…"

Kurumi had to admit, how the voice managed to be simultaneously calm and frantic was quite amusing. Somehow, it also reminded her of Shido and Rinne when she teased them.

"… _ **Maybe she is curious about how this telepathy works? Yes, that's it. I am sending this through my Spirit wavelengths.**_ _"_

Duh, that was obvious. Kurumi could already tell that was the case since the moment she heard the voice. Elaborate more, Spirit!

"… _ **Not that? I apologize. Please, don't abandon me out of frustration. I can't sense your thoughts, all I can do is sense is your Spirit energy, and the emotions carried within it.**_ _"_

" _Ara… I see."_

That was a surprisingly enlightening answer. Then, this Spirit could only tell what other Spirits were feeling, but had to guess the reason for them. It was somewhat similar to Ratatoskr's scanning of Spirit energy to determine their mental state, then.

No, it was probably more accurate than Ratatoskr's scan. Kurumi had made it her constant habit to keep her Spirit signatures hidden from both Realizers and fellow Spirits. Not even the newly reborn Origami was able to sense her, after all.

" _And yet, this Spirit could detect me in spite of that. Quite impressive…"_

The only other Spirits who could reliably sense her was Rinne and Phantom, though those two didn't do so through their innate Spirit detection ability. After all, Rinne had [Web of Causality] and Phantom could somehow find her no matter where she was.

" _ **Ah, your curiosity fades… and you are amused?"**_

Kurumi almost chuckled. The Spirit only realized that just now?

"… _ **Please refrain from messing with me.**_ _"_

A smile tugged on her lips. Kurumi could practically hear the pout in that voice. It was both amusing and adorable.

" _Is this Spirit going to be anything like those two? Fufu."_

If Material B was a goody two shoes like Shido and Rinne were… it would be too much for her sanity.

It would be entertaining, Kurumi had no doubt of that, but it would definitely be maddening… of the good kind, but it was madness all the same.

" _ **Now you are happy all of a sudden. That's fine, but shouldn't you be careful? You are surrounded by puppets made from my flesh, you know?**_ _"_

That snapped her back to attention; her body gracefully twirled to the side to avoid an energy bullet by a rifle-wielding Marina through reflex alone.

"Che!"

The Spirit was right, she couldn't afford to let her guard down or distracted.

But, did the voice just say 'puppets made from my flesh'?

That only meant one thing. "Ara… so, you **are** her!"

If that was the case-

She glanced to the gate at the right side of the chamber, then toward the gate at the other end of the conveyor belt on the left side.

Her Spirit senses were a bit confused because of the sheer number of sources around her – the Marinas did possess some Spirit mana, after all – but the Spirit wave of Material B felt like it came from…

…The left gate, it seemed.

"Zafkiel!"

The golden clock behind her began to produce loud, mechanical screeches as she poured large quantities of her 'time' into the Angel. It was ironic, but to avoid wasting more time, she had to spend more of her 'time'.

The Territory which protected the gate to Material B herself would surely be top-class. While breaking through with force wasn't impossible, it would be more efficient if she used-

"[Dalet]!"

The fourth bullet, the bullet which could rewind time, loaded itself to her musket.

It could reverse any change which occurred to an object by rewinding their internal time, including things like physical damage.

As such, she only used this bullet for the sake of health.

" _Though it doesn't affect that which is intangible, such as mental damage, Spirit energy or someone's life…"_

She pushed the memory of that day far, far to the dark corners of her mind. Now was **not** the time to think about it.

Dalet could not only affect living beings, it could affect any objects affected by the phenomenon known as time.

With that in mind, Kurumi took aim with her musket, her eyes focusing past all the Marinas on her field of vision.

"…There."

The time reversal bullet launched with a bang, she smiled as her bullet travelled through the air unimpeded to its target.

Its target was the entire wall of the left side of the chamber.

Even though Territories created by Realizers were formed out of magical energy and therefore unaffected by Dalet, their generators – the Realizers themselves – were physical objects and thus could be affected by Dalet.

Naturally, the Territories on these gates were powered by Realizers installed within the walls. The generators were activated at this moment, so she simply had to return them to a state when they were not activated.

Kurumi didn't know when exactly the Realizers were activated, but it obviously couldn't have been active a few hours ago before she, Rinne and Shido invaded this island. Otherwise, how could the conveyor belt transport Material B's body parts through the gates?

" _Checkmate, Westcott."_

As soon as her bullet hit the wall, she watched as time reversed itself before her very eyes. The Territory protecting the entrance gate faded from existence, revealing a somewhat dim hallway.

"Wh-what? Why did the barrier disappear?! Did something happen!?"

"Who the hell deactivated the Realizers of the gate!? We are still in combat, damn it!"

"That bitch did it! I saw one of those Nightmares fire a bullet to the wall!"

As she expected, the Marinas quickly degenerated into a screaming contest. What a bunch of inexperienced amateurs…

" _An experienced fighter acts first and asks questions second."_

"Zafkiel, Aleph."

The time acceleration bullet inserted itself to her flintlock, and without hesitation Kurumi fired it to her temple.

Even for her, what happened next could only be described as a blur.

In a span of time needed for blinking twice, Kurumi had smoothly blitzed past the crowds of Marinas and her own clones, entering the dimmed hallway behind the gate without resistance.

"Wha- one of them just slipped past us!"

"What!? Don't let her go further! Beyond that gate is **her** room!"

Kurumi couldn't help but feel amused at these pathetic fake Spirits.

"Fools. Zafkiel, [Het]!"

The eighth bullet – the one which gave life to her past selves – was quickly prepared for the flintlock, one with thousands of hours of her lifespan offered for its power.

The instant the bullet connected to her temple, countless clones materialized themselves from the shadows of her Astral Dress, quickly filling the hallway and blocking the gate entrance.

Kurumi glanced at her newly made clones. "I trust you all know what to do, Mes?"

One of them tilted their head and nodded to her. "Of course. We just need to prevent these clowns from following you. We shall make use of this narrow entrance to our advantage."

A giggle escaped her lips. "Fufu. Well then, I shall depart for the sleeping beauty."

" _ **Hum, you seem satisfied. Could it be… could it be, you are now past that gate…?**_ _"_

Kurumi couldn't help but halt her steps. The voice carried so much emotion, so much hope, that she was almost afraid of it.

" _Could I live up to this Spirit's expectations…?"_

Even if Kurumi freed the Spirit from the prison, she might not be able to 'wake' the sleeping beauty.

…No. She was the Nightmare Spirit. She had more experience with Spiritual powers than any other Spirit, barring the accursed First Spirit and perhaps the Second Spirit.

There was no reason Kurumi couldn't awaken Material B from her self-inflicted coma.

" _Besides… if I cannot even change the present on my own, there is no way I could change the past."_

It felt like it had been a very long time… since she allowed her conviction to answer the hope of someone else.

* * *

As Kurumi had expected, the hallway beyond the gate was not as long as the dark hallways in the above floors.

She couldn't see where the hallway ended at first, but after about a minute, she came across the literal light at the end of the tunnel.

Kurumi had braced herself for gruesome sceneries which would be worthy of her codename. However, when she looked around… perhaps she could say it was both disappointing and relieving.

The laboratory was much smaller than the chamber before it, and the majority of the room was filled with complex machineries incorporating Realizers, as well as the conveyor belt from the chamber.

The room was startlingly clean, for a slaughterhouse. Perhaps it was to be expected from magical technology, she supposed. Efficiency included cleanliness.

But, what truly caught Kurumi's eyes was the prisoner of the room.

An energy sphere with a diameter of about 3 meters and composed of pure Territories levitated in the center of the laboratory, roughly 7 meters above the floor. Its energy was so dense to a degree Kurumi was sure she had never seen a greener Territory before.

Of course, it didn't prevent her from seeing what… or rather who, was inside the sphere. There was a young girl was suspended horizontally at the center of the sphere, one which looked vaguely familiar.

" _This familiar feeling… it feels the same as that time I first met Rinne."_

It seemed her assumption that Material B and her friend were of similar nature was in fact, the truth.

Her appearance was definitely different, though. The green barrier encompassing the girl distorted her complexion, but even with that Kurumi could see her long and reflective golden hair spread like wings around her head, her hands neatly folded into her bare chest.

From Kurumi's perspective, it was almost as if the young girl was a naked corpse put on a display, ready to be buried for a funeral. It was such a repulsive way to treat a human being, even if Spirits were not humans anymore. And worse, she knew this Spirit was still conscious.

" _ **You are here… you are really here.**_ _"_

Kurumi really wanted to smile at the sheer disbelief, and relief, she felt from that voice. Perhaps the Spirit had trouble believing that her freedom was just around the corner?

Still, allowing the poor girl to be trapped inside that ball for any second longer was not desirable.

" _This cannot stand."_

Obedient as ever, both her flintlock and musket flung themselves to her hands from her shadow, ready to feed her targets with bullets.

A smirk found its way to her lips. Destroying the sphere directly might be difficult. But the same couldn't be said for machines powering it.

Her fingers twitched more times than she cared to count, her bullets absolutely demolishing every machine in the room.

…It felt pretty cathartic.

In a few seconds flat, the machines around her were full of holes, and the energy sphere in the room flickered like a lightbulb had its power source suddenly cut.

Two seconds, and then the sphere disappeared completely. Suddenly objected to the laws of gravity, the girl's body fell. Kurumi didn't even hesitate to catch her mid-fall, princess-style.

"Ara."

The girl's face was as youthful as it was beautiful, her locks of golden hair framing her face perfectly. Her expression was peaceful, as if her deep sleep was pleasant.

Kurumi was sure her sleep had been anything but, though.

"Can you hear me, now?"

" _ **Yes, I can. You are… you are truly here. You are touching me.**_ _"_

As expected, the girl in her arms remained unconscious, and the mental voice became stronger from their close proximity.

Her choice of words was humorous, but Kurumi was far more concerned by the implications of her words.

" _She still feels sensations from her physical body…"_

The last four years clearly hadn't been pleasant to this Spirit. However, Kurumi was curious about something.

If this Spirit was still able to send her thoughts to nearby Spirits and sense her surroundings…

"You are self-aware. Why didn't you wake up from your slumber and fight your way out of this miserable place?"

There was silence for a few moments.

" _ **I wish I could have done that…**_ _"_

The voice sounded resigned, but the voice was not done. Kurumi frowned at that.

" _ **Spirits like us are different from ordinary beings. Our consciousness is one with the Spirit energy we have, not within our body.**_ _"_

Kurumi could feel her eyes narrow sharply. She knew that already, but now she could already see where this was going.

" _ **My consciousness is sealed within the Crystal which gave us our powers. Because of that, even though the Crystal is implanted in my body… my mind cannot reach my body.**_ _"_

Bitterness. Anger. Kurumi couldn't help but shiver at the raw negativity in those words, in contrast to the warmth the voice exuded earlier.

Still, that explained things. So this was how Material B's body still exhibited extreme regeneration powers, even though the Spirit herself was supposedly in a state of coma.

The Sephira Crystal empowered her body with mana, but her mind was sealed within the Crystal and prevented from actually managing the mana flow throughout the body. It was like being a prisoner within your own body.

What a terrifying prospect… Kurumi didn't miss the implication in those words. That meant any other Spirit could be rendered helpless in a similar fashion, and that Material B didn't inflict this condition on herself, but it was inflicted by something else.

The question was, who?

Still, before anything else, it was better to confirm those assumptions first.

"Ara, you seem terribly upset by that. Is this condition not something you did to yourself?"

A harsh mental scoff was her reply.

" _ **Is that what the Deus Ex Machina think about me? That I was too weak to escape them, I resorted to putting myself into a coma?**_ _"_

The voice clearly took offense to that.

"If that's not the case… am I correct to assume someone else did it to you?"

There was silence for a few moments. _"_ _ **…You are not wrong. But**_ _ **I don't want to talk about it.**_ _"_

Kurumi supposed she should have expected that kind of response. Well, no matter, she wasn't in any hurry to interrogate her.

To be honest, she had every intention to take advantage of the fact that Material B was under her mercy for interrogation purposes. There were a lot of things to ask this Spirit. However, doing that would destroy any possibility of building trust between them.

Normally Kurumi wouldn't care too much about building trust, even with another Spirit… but it would be better for Shido and Rinne this way. With that in mind, Kurumi should try to free this girl from her forced slumber as soon as possible.

"Hum, it seems in my excitement to see you, I forgot my manners. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Tokisaki Kurumi. What's yours?"

" _ **Ah… my name is Mayuri.**_ _"_

Kurumi could feel her chest suddenly tighten the instant she heard that name.

"… _Too similar. This feeling… it is too similar to the first time I heard 'Sonogami Rinne' as well."_

That strong sense of déjà vu. The familiarity. The strong thought which kept telling her she definitely had heard that name before. If there was any difference between this time and that time with Rinne…

With Rinne, Kurumi's strongest feeling was fear. That primal fear which all living beings had for their life. To be honest, her fear only faded away after she came to know Rinne more personally.

But with this Spirit… with the name Mayuri, it was slightly different. Fear was not what she felt toward this girl. What she felt the strongest was…

"… _Pity."_

…She would investigate this later. Like with Rinne, she had to take her time.

"Then… Mayuri-san, is it? As you can probably guess already, I have come here to save you."

Gently, Kurumi lay down Mayuri's body onto her shadow – it was much better than the cold hard floor – and straighten her body up before the unconscious girl.

"I have my reasons for doing so, and I cannot force you to trust me. But if you have any idea as to how to break the seal placed upon you, would you be so kind as to tell me? Needless to say, I shall help you."

"… _ **You are kinder than you believe you are, you know that?**_ _"_

Kurumi frowned. "You don't know what you are talking about. Now, would you answer my question?"

There was a sigh before the reply came.

" _ **I am afraid I don't know how to break the seal placed upon my Crystal. The only method I could think of is for another Spirit to touch the Crystal within me… the resulting contact with a foreign Spirit energy would result in a violent reaction and possibly break the seal, but…**_ _"_

"It is extremely dangerous." Kurumi finished. "You don't know what might happen to you."

" _ **I fear so.**_ _"_ Mayuri seemed depressed with that admission.

It was frustrating, but Kurumi had to agree. As far as she knew, directly interacting with a Sephira Crystal while it was still inside a Spirit's body carried high risk of damage, both to the Spirit and the Crystal.

That was why that wretch had always told her to kill the body first to safely extract the Crystal… Kurumi shook her head. Now was not the time to think about that thing.

"… _Wait. What about using Rinne's ability?"_

With [Cassiel], even two different Spirits could safely connect and synchronize using [Fate Connection]. If Rinne synchronized with Mayuri, she would be able to connect with the Crystal without causing a violent reaction. It was not unthinkable to influence the seal.

She nodded to herself. "I think I have a solution."

" _ **Oh?**_ _"_ Mayuri sounded hopeful again.

"You might not have noticed, but I am not alone in invading this facility. Two of my allies are fighting their way here from the upper floors. One of them could help us with her Angel, I believe."

" _ **Oh, don't worry. I felt their presence coming here, too. Are they your friends?**_ _"_

On that, Kurumi hesitated. Rinne certainly was her friend – her only friend, in fact. But what about Shido?

…She supposed her relationship with Shido was another thing she had to reevaluate, after this invasion was over.

"You could say that. In any case, I believe it is nigh time for us to leave this forsaken place- hum?"

All of a sudden, Kurumi could feel something large was coming – from the upper floors.

Mayuri definitely felt it too. _"_ _ **This is… one of the two Spirits above seem to have released a large amount of mana.**_ _"_

Kurumi connected the dots. Either Rinne or Shido had just unleashed their finishing move… most likely Shido, then.

DDDDDRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT-

"…!"

" _ **Huh…?!**_ _"_

All of a sudden, the room were shaken violently, though it only lasted a few brief seconds.

" _ **Wha… what was that? An earthquake?**_ _"_

It was in times like these Kurumi was grateful for her quick and imaginative mind.

"No, it was the impact of an explosion. If my hunch is right, then one of my allies had just blown a hole into this floor."

Still, among the Spirits Shido had sealed, there were several capable of destroying more than a dozen floors reinforced with Territories with a single attack.

The Throne of Annihilation [Sandalphon], the Frozen Puppet [Zadkiel], the Blazing Annihilation Demon [Camael], the Hurricane Knight [Raphael], and the Angel of Extinction [Metatron].

Which one did this attack belonged to, she wondered? In any case…

"Mayuri-san, I apologize in advance, but I will put your body within the pocket dimension in my shadow."

" _ **That's fine with me. Do what you must. I don't want to be an inconvenience for you in battle.** "_

As the sleeping beauty slowly sank to her enlarged shadow without resistance, Kurumi turned and went back to the hallway from which she came from.

* * *

"Umm, Tobiichi-san… are you sure about this?"

Shido could feel Origami's thoughts rolling their shared eyes at Rinne's question. She definitely thought the question was pointless.

"Of course I am. You said our destination is located at the bottommost of [Cage of Judgment]."

No matter how many times it had happened, the feeling of listening to an unfamiliar voice coming out of your mouth was fascinating, Shido supposed.

Still, Origami, why didn't you just say 'the server which controlled the Marinas'? You sounded unusually secretive.

There's a chance the walls had ears, Shido.

Oh yeah, right.

Oblivious to their internal conversation, Rinne looked exasperated.

"But I didn't say we should blast the floors! It's like diving headfirst into enemy territory!"

"True, but after seeing you and me sweeping through the Marinas in this floor, I am confident we would easily win even if we were completely surrounded and grossly outnumbered."

To emphasize, Origami moved their hands toward the ruined floor they were in, which was now only occupied by the two of them and the Kurumi clones.

Shido couldn't help but agree with Origami on this one. As far as he was concerned, their 'battle' earlier was a massacre.

If he didn't know just what the Marinas actually were, he would have stopped Origami for how brutal she was in essentially vaporizing them with light beams.

Thank you for the compliment, Shido.

That wasn't a compliment, Origami! In any case, Rinne seemed to see our point now, judging from the way she looked away.

"I suppose I can't blame you for being confident… I am just afraid you will hit Kurumi, you know?"

That moment, Shido could literally feel the exact moment Origami's thoughts controlling their body crashed into a grinding halt.

Almost immediately, he could feel her anxiety spike up.

" _Eh? Origami, why are you…?"_

Now, hesitance made Origami clam up. Shido could sense it. Despite that though, she replied.

" _Shido, I… I am afraid. I don't want anything like_ _ **that day**_ _in the old world again."_

…

Now Shido felt bad for Origami – she was referring to the 3rd August of the previous timeline. When she, out of recklessness, had killed her own parents…

Origami definitely didn't want anything like that to happen again. Even toward Kurumi, who was only a temporary ally for her.

"…Oh."

Rinne widened her crimson eyes toward them, and her expression turned into one of horror.

"I am sorry! I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories!"

…Was Rinne an esper? If he was in her position, he wasn't sure he could guess Origami was reminded of her past mistake.

Then again, this was Rinne he was thinking about. In any case, he should take over for this-

No, Shido. Let me.

Ah, alright.

"There is nothing to apologize, Ruler. You are right, I should be more careful with my powers."

Origami bowed her head toward Rinne a bit. It was only slight, but Shido knew this was a genuine expression of apology for Origami.

However, Rinne frowned at them. "No, it is I who should be more sensitive. Let's go with your plan. I'll make it up to you."

"Cassiel! Web of Causality!"

With a commanding voice, Rinne swiped her left arm, and the Laharos ribbons wrapped on her hands twitched as she did.

The next moment, a black sphere roughly 1 meter wide in diameter manifested in front of Rinne – one which Shido recognized.

" _This is…"_

If his memory was correct, it was similar to the black circle which Rinne had summoned behind her during their meeting in the school rooftop yesterday.

The difference was, now this was a complete sphere. It was eerily similar to a miniature spacequake, in looks at least.

"What is this, Ruler?"

Origami asked Rinne in his place. Rinne, however, merely smiled at them.

"This is where the fates of all things converge, Tobiichi-san."

Shido could literally feel his and Origami's confusion became one in his mind. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I am saying. Shido, if you are still listening, I am sure you remember that I told you about my ability?"

Of course, he remembered. 'Fate Connection' – it clearly had something to do with fate.

Rinne's smile turned somewhat somber. "You might not see anything from this sphere. But from my perspective, I am literally seeing through the lives of others."

Origami was confused, and so was he, so they raised their brow together. "Seeing through the lives of others? Could you explain?"

"Hum. Why don't I just demonstrate it? Tobiichi-san, try to think up a phrase."

" _I love Shido."_

Wait, what? Did Origami just-

Rinne let out a hearty giggle. "You just thought, 'I love Shido', didn't you?"

What. Did Rinne just-

"How do you know?" Suddenly, Origami became defensive.

"I said it earlier, right? Through this sphere, I am seeing through the lives of others. Their fates are displayed here; what they are doing, what they are thinking, what's happening around them."

What?! That would mean Rinne had an ability similar to-

"Nope. I believe Honjou-san described her [Rasiel] as a super-powerful search engine, capable of giving any knowledge which exists, right? Unfortunately, mine is not that convenient."

Shido was sure he had never been this dumbfounded. Rinne had literally predicted his line of thought!

"The Web of Causality is where the fates of all things could be observed. However, there are countless living beings out there, each with their own fate. Even I would not be able to pick apart which fate belongs to whom, until I see the owner in the flesh."

The ribbon wrapped around Rinne's right arm divided itself into several dozens of strings as their owner spoke, and as soon as she finished, a single string moved separately from the others – and waved at both him and Origami.

"But, as you can probably guess, I have already seen you. Now, I can find which fate belongs to you, and as long as the Web of Causality is materialized, I can see through your life."

For some reason, that made more sense to him than he had thought. He supposed she was right – rather than a search engine, that ability was better described as a crystal ball. The kind used by witches to watch events from afar.

Wait, did that mean-

"No, unfortunately. The Web's sole purpose is observation, which means information is viewed on real time, and there is no way to review that which had passed. For example, I cannot even begin to guess what you were thinking five minutes ago."

…He was starting to get annoyed at the way Rinne kept cutting his thoughts off.

Origami decided to speak by that point. "So you can only observe individuals, not investigate their life. It is possible to miss information when you are not watching or when the sphere is dematerialized."

Rinne clapped her hands and smiled. "As expected from Tobiichi-san. That is completely correct."

Shido had to think about it for a moment. _"Still, it is a very useful ability…"_

He could hear Origami's mental hum. _"Indeed. If I possess that ability, I would be able to keep watch on you with minimal breaks, Shido."_

" _Please drop that terrifying thought!"_

Rinne let out a chuckle. "You two do realize I am still reading your minds, right?"

Origami didn't seem to mind, but she turned to face Rinne regardless. "Ruler. Though this ability of yours is impressive, I don't understand why you need to show it to us."

"Isn't it obvious?" Rinne spoke as if she was lecturing them. "Through the Web, I am able to roughly tell Kurumi's location. By comparing it to our position, we can adjust your aim to ensure it will not hit her."

His and Origami's thoughts instantly connected the dots. "Then why didn't you agree with us to destroy the floors and skip all the way to the bottom?"

Rinne actually pouted. "Do you even have to ask? I am not fond of excessive violence, much less mass destruction. But this time, I'll concede to your wishes in compensation for my insensitivity."

At that, Origami smiled. "Thank you, Ruler. Then, please show me where to aim safely."

"Give me a few moments."

The Fate Shaman then approached the sphere she summoned more closely, her crimson eyes focusing at something only she could see.

"…Found you. Please shoot directly downwards from there, Tobiichi-san."

One of her strings – the one which waved at them earlier, actually – extended in length, and pointed to a spot in the floor roughly 10 meters behind where she stood.

Not missing a beat, Origami floated to the spot directed.

"[Metatron]!"

Following her command, Origami flexed her arms wide to focus.

Immediately, the Spirit energy released by her mere presence began to gather, as the separated pieces of the Angelic Crown levitating around her moved to reform into their original form.

Massive amounts of mana were concentrated at the tip of the crown, which was also the cannon of the Angel.

"Crown Cannon - [Artelif]!"

As the tip of Metatron was aimed downwards toward the floor, Rinne and the Kurumi clones around them quickly began to clear away.

For some reason, Shido felt Origami was resisting the tug to smile.

* * *

When she returned to the entrance of Mayuri's laboratory Kurumi had expected a chaotic battlefield between two armies of clones, one which consisted of [herself] and one consisting of strangely clad puppets called Marinas.

But it seemed the attack from above was something greater than their petty fighting, as in this very moment every single combatant within the floor was shocked by the destruction of the ceiling above them.

Of course, as she was the Nightmare Spirit, she was above being mesmerized by such things. With graceful steps and quick movements, Kurumi went past several shocked faces, and levitated 20 meters above the floor to see past the crowd.

She needed to see the aftereffects of the attack.

" _Hum… I see."_

The gigantic chamber this battlefield took in was roughly five times larger than Ratatoskr's flagship Fraxinus, and the conveyor belt stretched across the entire length of the chamber from the entrance she just exited from to the opposite side.

Yet, Kurumi could no longer recognize the center of the chamber as a 'floor'.

That region was now charred black, as if it had transformed into a miniature garden of black ruins. There were no rubbles or even cinders within the roughly circular area which was probably 200 meters in diameter; only black, radiating ashes which signified the immense heat the area was scorched by.

It was natural to think it was caused by Camael. But Kurumi knew better – the flames of that Angel would have left raging inferno, not ashes which shone brightly with black light. Those ashes were what the results of transmutation when normal matter had absorbed too much light energy. Just how many Marinas were vaporized by that attack, she wondered?

But, with this it was certain. It was definitely Metatron.

Kurumi gazed up. The huge ceiling high above now had a gaping hole, displaying clear sight to what lay above – the floors above also had equally large holes in their ceilings, and now Kurumi had to squint to see how high did the holes go.

A bright dot suddenly twinkled in the distance – and that small dot was approaching closer at an alarming rate.

"Origami-san…"

Like a comet falling down upon the earth – Origami, clad in her bridal Astral Dress, was falling headfirst at such a speed that Kurumi wondered if she felt she was skydiving.

Her mismatched eyes met icy blue in the distance, and Origami's expressionless face twisted slightly.

The pieces of Origami's Angelic Crown then appeared around her shoulder, and in just an instant, they manifested a pair of swan-like wings thrice as large as Origami herself, as pure white as the light which composed its very being.

Gradually, her fall slowed down – and by the time the Spirit of Light reached the ceiling of this chamber, Origami truly resembled an angel which had descended upon the heavens with its feathery wings of light.

Kurumi couldn't help but admit. That was certainly one way to make an entrance. She was impressed.

She didn't miss Origami's gaze was on her when the Spirit of Light finally reached the same altitude as her, though.

"Tokisaki Kurumi. I see you were unharmed."

She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. Was Origami… concerned for her? She couldn't possibly miss that opportunity.

"Ara ara. My, are you worried about me?"

Origami frowned slightly, but then she shook her head.

"If you don't want your clones to die in vain… recall them."

Kurumi didn't need to be told to know what Origami was about to do.

"As you wish. [Mes]! Come to me!"

Her command echoing within the chamber, her shadow began to splash out from under her Astral Dress, opening a 6 meters wide portal behind her body for her clones below to enter mid-air.

Released from their stupor, all the Kurumis quickly leaped to the air or flew with their Spirit powers, and one by one Kurumi felt them entering her shadow again.

"Don't let them! Kill them as they fall back!"

Unfortunately, the Marinas had also recovered from their stupor. Kurumi was about to retort, but Origami beat her to it.

"Heed my call, Sun! [Shemesh]!"

Immediately, the wings of light faded as the crown pieces moved to form a ring-like formation above her head. They quickly began to spin, rapidly releasing beams of light particles toward different trajectories below.

Compared to randomness of the destructive raindrops of light Kurumi saw before, this felt more like the bullet hell genre – did Origami learn to control her powers better?

Although seemingly erratic at first glance, each shot was carefully aimed at the Marinas. Though she saw some of the beams had barely missed her clones, most of the projectiles had done their jobs well; vaporizing or at least mutilating the Marinas.

Kurumi couldn't help but praise such skill. "You have gotten better, Origami-san. Perhaps possessing Shido-san's body does wonders for your finesse?"

Origami didn't change her expression, but there was a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Maybe."

"If you are here, then I suspect your and Rinne's destination is also located here?"

"That's true."

"If so, I won't let you have all the fun." Kurumi smiled as her Spirit energy began to focus.

As her flintlock, musket, and golden clock materialized though, Kurumi saw something she didn't expect would ever see; a smirking Origami.

"Then, can you keep up with me?"

Kurumi couldn't help but return that with a smirk of her own.

"That's my line."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, that's it! How was the chapter? As usual, leave your thoughts in the comments!
> 
> Now then~ thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


	20. Awakening the Angel of Sanctuary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings! Here is the last of the chapter currently available in fanfiction.net!
> 
> Let us not waste time, shall we? Let's begin the Chapter 20, "Awakening the Angel of Sanctuary"

To be honest, Mayuri didn't know what to expect in the 'pocket dimension' within the shadow of her savior, Tokisaki Kurumi.

...No, that's not it. It would be more accurate to say she didn't know what to expect from the person, the existence known as [Tokisaki Kurumi].

More than any other Spirit, Mayuri was very attuned to the energy of the Spirits, the one referred as [Mana] by humans.

Mayuri could see it with her eyes, feel it on her skin, taste it with her mouth, and listen to the ripples of its waves. Though in her currently sealed state, she could only feel and listen.

Mana filled this world, drowned everything in its ethereal, nearly intangible presence. A Spirit was akin to a raging vortex amidst the ocean of power.

Humans might compare these vortexes to disasters, but for her... Mayuri thought they were beautiful, in their own way.

She could hear the wailings of the soul, the stirrings of the mind which reigned over the wellspring of power hidden within her kind.

It was the ripples originating from Tokisaki Kurumi's inner self which piqued Mayuri's curiosity.

In her short life, she had never encountered a person quite like Kurumi. Someone with so much conviction, so much doubt, so much love, so much fear, so much pain.

Not even the heart of the Spirit kind's so-called [Mother] had been so contradictory.

Mayuri didn't know what to make of Kurumi's heart. And she wanted to know.

But whatever her expectations were, Mayuri was rather certain she wasn't expecting… this.

"Ara ara. Look at that, a naked beauty in our den."

"Ufufu, what should we do to her, [Mes]?"

"Don't give her a hard time. She is a guest, not a captive."

"And we are hardly gracious as hosts if we leave her undressed the way she is."

"Kuh, lighten up. We are just teasing her."

"I'll search our wardrobe for something nice. She needs it."

It was noisy and unexpectedly crowded. So, this was why her senses picked up multiple presences within Kurumi – how many were there? There were at least a few hundreds.

Still, Mayuri would greet them all. It wouldn't do to be impolite to her savior, even if they were duplicates.

If only her mind wasn't sealed in her own [Sephira Crystal]... Mayuri would be truly conversing, meeting these 'Kurumis' in their eyes…

_" **Greetings for you all. I am not intruding your sanctuary, am I?**_ _"_

There was a moment of silence, before the Kurumis spoke again.

"Ara, she is polite, I'll give her that."

"Is she going to be yet another goody-two shoes?"

"Evidently. Don't you think we need more archetypes?"

"Please don't stereotype her. You are all being rude."

"Oh, you are not a bother at all, Mayuri-san."

"Hmm, all we have are goth-loli dresses…"

Mayuri's attention perked at that last one. _"_ _ **I don't**_ _ **mind gothic dresses. I am sure my form hasn't changed in the past 4 years, so I know they would fit me.**_ _"_

There was a moment of silence, before dozens of malicious-sounding giggles without any actual malice could be heard. Did she accidentally make an inside joke of theirs?

"Ara," there was a hint of fondness in the 'Kurumi' who cut through the laughters, "I see you are a woman of culture, Mayuri-san."

 _" **Pardon?**_ _"_ Mayuri wanted to raise a brow, but she physically couldn't.

"What she means is," another Kurumi chuckled, "we are happy you would be cooperative to be dressed up."

Even though there was no ill-intent in those words, Mayuri felt shivers in her spine. That sounded a lot more ominous than it should be...

* * *

The scenery which lay below the gaping hole on what must have been a floor and a ceiling reminded Rinne why she disliked violence.

She really, truly hated it. To intentionally harm others and hurt them for your own gain… it wasn't something her heart would ever be comfortable with.

Not everything could be solved with mere exchange of words and thoughts – Rinne knew that from experience. She wasn't so naïve as to avoid using force when it was necessary.

_"Still. I want to believe violence isn't the first answer to anything."_

After all, if violence was her first instinct for anything, perhaps she would not have been friends with Kurumi this very day... her friend would be long dead.

_"But… it seems it isn't a sentiment my friends agree with."_

Whatever she was expecting from Kurumi and Origami's rampage, Rinne wasn't expecting for the titanic chamber at the bottom of this facility, [Cage of Judgment], to transform into what could very well be described as a portrait of carnage.

To be honest, it looked as if divine wrath had just passed its righteous judgment upon this unfortunate place.

Holes created by bullets of darkness were all over the place, and some spots on the floors and walls were scorched into black ashes radiating with light energy here and there. The conveyor belt which probably stretched across the whole room before was now ruined, and there were a field of ashes in the center, clearly results of [Metatron]'s [Artelif] earlier.

Perhaps the only significant features of the chamber which were not damaged beyond repair were the four large gates, one on each side of the chamber. Miraculously, or perhaps done intentionally, the gates themselves were intact, only the walls around them were riddled with bullet holes or scorched into blackened carbons.

Not to mention the sickening number of Marina corpses – some more intact than others – it was perhaps fortunate these poor victims had both Combat Realizers suits and Astral Dresses. If they didn't have the former, their dresses would simply fade into nothing after death, leaving naked bodies in their wake. Talk about disgusting…

Rinne's eyes searched for the ones responsible for this mess. It didn't take long for her to find the darkly dressed Kurumi and the brightly decorated Shido-turned-into-Origami, their contrasting appearances easy to spot. They seemed to be talking on a small area on the floor which was unharmed and intact.

How they could look so proud after causing this carnage, Rinne had no idea.

"I killed more of them than you." Origami's voice was calm as usual, yet it carried a slight smugness to it.

Kurumi didn't seem goaded, if anything her face were definitely that of amusement.

"You know what's your problem?" the dark Spirit drawled, "You are too impatient in killing our foes. Too efficient. The deaths you dealt were too quick for any pain to linger. You don't enjoy the suffering, the misery as their ends approach."

Her friend ended her short rant with a mocking shrug. "Where is the fun in that?"

Oh, Kurumi…

Origami opened her mouth to retort, but Rinne decided to cut in before the things they talked about could get any bleaker.

"Kurumi, Tobiichi-san."

The two of them instantly turned their faces to her, one of them was smirking and the other was blank.

Kurumi giggled in that creepy way only she could do. "Ara, Rinne. You are late to the party."

Rinne shook her head. "If this party of yours involved lots of blood and gore, then I am fine with being late."

"Killjoy." Her friend said amusedly, before smirking. "Why don't we enjoy it for what it is? A rare chance to kill at will, and for once our enemies are mere puppets of flesh and blood with no life of their own, not alive enough to go against your conscience."

That was true, Rinne had to admit. She didn't find it in her to care for these dolls – they were twisted results of Westcott's exploitation of the poor Spirit locked here. For her, stopping these Marinas felt like an obligation, a retribution for the sake of the wronged victim.

Yet as far as she was concerned, simply disabling the controller unit within them or draining their mana with [Sacrificial Bonds] were enough. She certainly could tear them into bloody pieces with a flick of her wrist using [Laharos] – but there was no need to go that far.

In any case, there were more relevant things to talk about!

"Anyway," Rinne cleared her throat, "we are at the bottom of this facility, so our objectives should be close by. We should split up."

"Ara," Kurumi interjected, her smile widening just the tiniest bit, "there is no need for that."

What?

"What?" Seems Origami, and likely Shido as well, were of the same thought process as her. "What do you mean, Tokisaki Kurumi?"

Kurumi's lips twisted into what had to be one of the smuggest smiles Rinne had ever seen on her friend's face.

"I have secured our damsel in distress~"

There was a moment of silence as Kurumi's words sank in.

A powerful sense of delight hit Rinne as the realization settled in – Kurumi had already saved the girl locked up in this place!

Even the poker-faced Origami couldn't help but widen her eyes slightly. "You have? But if so, where is she?"

"Safe and sound within my shadows, Origami-san." Kurumi curtsied the curtain of her skirt, her shadow twitching as if answering.

"You haven't visited it before, but [Miku-san] and [Shido-san] had experienced the humble home of my clones firsthand, so you can rest assured."

Rinne had to restrain herself from speaking so she could think. Kurumi did beat her and Shido to this floor by at least twenty minutes – and knowing her friend's abilities, that was enough time.

That meant one of their objectives had been fulfilled; just one more, the Realizer to keep her mind in check for later. That being said, according to the information gained from reading that Marina's past, the Spirit was in a comatose state – did Kurumi manage to awaken her?

"Your question is written on your face, you know." Kurumi suddenly said, a teasing smile on her face, but then her lips thinned. "Unfortunately, I couldn't wake her up."

That admission sank Rinne's heart. If Kurumi of all people couldn't awaken the Spirit, there was little chance any of them could, herself included.

" _That's truly unfortunate..."_

She forced her disappointment down. Rinne didn't want her little pessimism to show on her face, Kurumi would be concerned if there was even a hint of it on her face.

...However, it seemed she could hide nothing from her friend, as Kurumi's mismatched eyes narrowed at her.

To her surprise though, Kurumi didn't comment on it and continued. "Her condition is quite exceptional. Rinne, as far as I know, you are the only one who could help her."

"Huh?" Rinne pointed a finger to herself. "Me? What can I do?"

For a moment Kurumi seemed like she was about to explain, but then shook her head.

"I suppose it's better if I show you."

The shadow cast by Kurumi's dress grew in size, now resembling a small pond with black waters. From its depths, Rinne could feel two presences surfacing – it was likely a 'Kurumi' clone and the girl, then.

As if on cue, the 'Kurumi' emerged, carrying someone in her arms like a prince holding a sleeping princess. Soon after, the shadow below them receded back to under the original's dress.

" _...That is [Material B]?"_

The sleeping girl was, in a single word, beautiful – her waist-length blond hair swayed as the 'Kurumi' who carried her stood tall on the dark shadow. The goldilocks framed a youthful, fair-skinned face with smooth features, nearly too foreign for a Japanese.

She was roughly Kurumi's size in height and slimness, though a bit more filled in her lower body. The blond was also clad in a pure black, short-sleeved blouse and a matching bell-shaped skirt with very short hemlines which left most of her thighs uncovered.

Judging from the gothic style of the clothing, they were probably created by Kurumi, but...

" _...Why do you feel so… familiar?"_

Everything about the girl's appearance, every little detail of the blonde's form was inexplicably familiar.

In fact, the mere sight of the girl had forced her vision to tunnel; try as she might, Rinne couldn't look away.

It was almost like...

" _Is this not the first time I see you…?"_

It was almost like the first time Rinne lay her eyes on Itsuka Shido.

Rinne's chest ached terribly just by gazing at the girl's sleeping face, and thoughts without any rationale formed out of nowhere.

Her mind struggled to even describe the feelings which suddenly overcame her – they were joy, homesickness, and above all... nostalgia.

_"You..."_

It was as if an unknown force was compelling her. To approach the girl, to see that face closer, to brush those strands of golden hair with her hand.

It didn't make sense, none of it did. It was as if she had reunited with a family member she didn't know she had, yet had somehow shared affection with... a distinctly **familial** bond.

The realization was as baffling as it was ridiculous – Rinne knew for a fact she had no sister, cousin, or any other relative – she didn't even know this girl's name!

But then again... she didn't know Kurumi's name when they first met either. Yet, inexplicable familiarity had haunted both of them – though it wasn't as strong as this one.

_" **You...**_ _"_

Rinne blinked. Twice even. What was that? A voice just rang in her head... it was just as familiar, in more ways than one.

Judging from how Origami and the two present Kurumis suddenly flinched, it seemed it was heard by everyone in the vicinity, as well.

That was very reminiscent of [Phantom], the way the word echoed in her mind. However, unlike the distorted, uncomfortable voice of Phantom's, this one was very much human and... warm.

" _ **You feel familiar...**_ _"_

That direct admission made her heart skip a beat. There was no need to ask, Rinne could **feel** exactly who the telepathic Spirit was addressing, and it was her.

For a moment, Rinne was conflicted about how she would respond – but she wanted to be honest to herself. That had worked with Shido, she hoped it would be the same with this girl.

"You... too."

Rinne wanted to kick herself for stuttering, but she steeled her nerves. There was one thing she had to say no matter what, that same question she had wanted to ask Shido with.

"Have we met somewhere... before?"

_" **...**_ _"_

The stunned silence was almost audible through the telepathy. The seemingly sleeping girl before her was just as confused as Rinne herself.

 _" **...Honestly, I don't know.**_ _**Mother hides a great many things away from us. We could have met before... perhaps if not in this world, then in another.**_ _"_

"That's..."

Rinne trailed off. What could she say? There was an honest uncertainty in those words, as well as wonder, as if the girl couldn't believe even herself in that matter.

_" **But it does not mean we cannot find the answers. In fact... we could find those answers, together.**_ _"_

The determination conveyed through the telepathy was so strong, it reminded her of a certain man she knew.

_" **Tell me... what's your name?**_ _"_

That simple question nearly caused Rinne to flinch. Hesitation threatened to paralyze her tongue.

Just like answering Shido yesterday, her Angel could sense it... her answer would hold a tremendous weight for her fate, and future.

"Sonogami... Rinne."

_" **Sonogami Rinne...?"**_

Silence permeated the atmosphere.

The tone with which the girl spoke her name held a restrained, but definite, recognition.

Before long, a telepathic sigh cut through the silence.

_" **...I see. My name is Mayuri. I do not have a surname.**_ _"_

Mayuri.

It was a relatively common Japanese name. Rinne had heard of it more than a few times when she was listening to radio news in her free time.

But for some reason... when that same name was spoken by this girl, this 'Mayuri' – everything felt different.

"Mayuri..."

The name rolled off her tongue like a forgotten tune.

It was... wonderful, to say that name out loud, and the thought scared her just a little.

_" **It seems to me we really have met each other... even if I don't remember."**_

Mayuri's words were solemn, but Rinne couldn't help but detect a hint of cheerfulness that wasn't there before.

_" **But, that is a matter for another time. Now, I need you to free me. Please, come closer.**_ _"_

"..."

Strange. Something was wrong. Unlike Shido, or Rinne herself for that matter, Mayuri didn't seem... the slightest bit apprehensive by their familiarity.

For a moment, she wanted to ask why. But something – these irrational, unexplainable feelings – urged her to simply comply to the request.

She shook her head. There was no use thinking about it. Mayuri was right earlier; there was no use to trying to find the answer on her lonesome.

Rinne had tried. It had never worked. Not with Kurumi, not with Shido, not with anyone.

That, more than anything else, pushed her to comply.

"...Okay."

* * *

_"Wonderful... simply wonderful."_

Mayuri could scarcely believe the turn of events since her rescue.

Honestly, when she heard that a team of Spirits had invaded this prison for the sake of her freedom, she found it unbelievable.

But to think her savior, Tokisaki Kurumi would be allies with the one Spirit whom she had wanted to meet...

Sonogami Rinne.

More than just a fellow Spirit, it was the person whose fate was intertwined with her own... an [ **Original Angel** ], a true kin.

What's more, Kurumi said earlier between her two allies, only one could help with the seal; her silence meant Mayuri had asked the right person for the job.

_"Though... it's unfortunate you don't seem to know of our origin."_

The unadulterated confusion and the conflicted feelings Mayuri sensed from the mana exuded in the air had all but confirmed Rinne's ignorance of the matter.

But, that could be rectified later. The two of them would talk about it, and together they would find the rest of the answers.

What's most important right now, would be freedom.

Mayuri could hear the clicking sounds of high-heeled shoes – signs of an approaching person – and it was almost too much for her to bear.

Thankfully, it wasn't long until the source of the maddeningly familiar mana was right in front of her. Blind as she was, she could still sense it.

"...Now, what?"

Good question. Among the myriad, countless applications of mana, fantastic possibilities Spirits could come up with their Angels, there were only a few abilities which could help–

_" **Do you have any ability to synchronize with me?**_ _"_

"...Ah!" Rinne paused in surprise, "It happens to be my specialty. Should I use it?"

 _" **That's truly fortunate,**_ _"_ Mayuri didn't think she could get any luckier, _"_ _ **please do so.**_ _"_

"It might feel unpleasant," Rinne warned, concern clear in her voice, "my Angel takes the form of a myriad strings, and they will all hold you tight in their grasp."

That's it? _"_ _ **There is no need to worry.**_ _ **I have been through worse.**_ _"_

A wave of sadness came from Rinne's mana – now Mayuri felt a bit guilty. She definitely should have worded that better.

"Then, I wouldn't keep you waiting any longer. Laharos!"

Abruptly, Mayuri sensed the mana concentration in the air spiked up drastically, and in a moment, she could feel something – several things, actually – slither around her limbs.

The warm and firm arms of the 'Kurumi' clone who had brought Mayuri out of the shadow realm was gone, and in their place were cold, metallic strings which twisted and wrapped around to support her body and kept her in an upright position.

It was a bit uncomfortable, but the gentle flow of mana from Rinne signified she was being careful and delicate with these Angelic Strings. That was interesting to note, seeing as precision-control of Mana wasn't instinctive even for Spirits, it had to be practiced.

"[Fate Connection]..."

The moment those words were uttered, mana immediately flowed from the strings into her body, and moved toward the very core of her being... the Sephira Crystal.

In normal circumstances, mana from another Spirit couldn't even enter her body without being violently pushed out – yet this one had made its way easily.

Rinne was very good at synchronization, just as promised. Now it was up to Mayuri herself to open a 'path' for the foreign mana to enter.

_"Come..."_

In an instant, a connection had formed – if Mayuri had to explain it, the sensation reminded her of two strings which tied into one another, herself and her kin – how peculiar.

_"...Done!"_

Comatose as she was, Mayuri could still feel her heart stop beating for a few seconds as a foreign, cheerful exclamation rang out in the mindscape of her consciousness.

It was then she realized. She was used to sending her thoughts to others. However, she wasn't at all habituated to **receiving** them... not since that fated day, anyway.

Mayuri couldn't help but feel ashamed at that, _"You surprised me..."_

" _Eh?"_ Rinne's mental voice was apologetic. _"I apologize, I didn't mean to shock you..."_

_"It's fine. I'm the one who asked for it, I should have seen it coming."_

_"Well then... what am I supposed to do now?"_

The shock aside, Mayuri was very pleased now. Though the synchronization itself was excellently done, the strength of the link was only enough for an exchange of thoughts.

It was easy to tell why. Rinne didn't want to breach her privacy by sharing memories just yet. What an affable Spirit – a rarity among their kind, considering their cruel fates.

Well. Such politeness deserved to be answered with an equally well-intentioned warning.

_"For now, brace yourself. I will bring you in to my [sanctuary]."_

_"Sanctuary...?"_

There was an honest curiosity in that question, and Mayuri didn't blame Rinne for that. After all, it wasn't the proper term to describe what she meant.

It would be difficult to explain it with words alone, and it had been a while since she entered her own sanctuary, anyway. Might as well hit two birds with one stone.

Mayuri could feel her heartbeat had raised again – but unlike before, she could tell it was clearly her excitement, her anticipation. And it was not just for her freedom.

_"Let's meet face to face, my kin."_

_"My what...? W, wha!?"_

Mayuri mentally chuckled one more time before she cut off their awareness of the outside world.

* * *

Rinne knew something went wrong when the connection of [Intertwining Souls] was suddenly **tugged**.

It was a very rare occurrence, which had only happened once before when she tried to establish a weak connection on a very strong target – like Kurumi.

Yet, even though it was alarming, Rinne couldn't muster up any will to resist the tugging. For some reason... her intuition believed Mayuri would never harm her.

That, in and of itself, was a mystifying line of thought.

But perhaps even more mystifying was...

_"This is... her inner world?"_

The phantasmal, dream-like sensation.

Rinne knew the feeling well – after all, to establish stronger connections with Intertwining Souls, she had to cut off her awareness of the real world – but she could never get used to it.

To 'see', 'hear', 'feel', and 'move' about in an imaginary world were similar to phantom pains. It felt like a lucid dream, and in a sense, the inner world of every individual was exactly that; the subconscious which kept on dreaming, even as the conscious was awake.

She knew it very well – yet, the scenery unveiled before her was beyond anything she had expected.

_"How... beautiful..."_

It was an immensely vast expanse of void. If Rinne didn't know any better, she would have thought this was somewhere across the cosmos outside Earth; twinkling stars and golden auroras decorated the celestial space like a colorful work of art upon a black canvas.

But the warmth of this place was unmistakable. Gentleness was suffused into its very fabric, permeating its depths, as if welcoming her as a guest. The way the stars twinkled and the auroras danced as if in rhythm signified Mayuri was very happy to invite her here.

Surreal and beautiful beyond words... Rinne couldn't think of a more appropriate word to describe this world.

_"Hehehe. Thank you."_

The words echoed from everywhere in this space. The multitoned voice was a bit creepy, but this was normal within inner worlds.

Rinne didn't miss the meaning behind those words of gratitude. Mayuri was flattered by the compliment for this 'sanctuary' – which was basically Mayuri herself.

Honestly, it would have been nice to continue the small talk – but there were still things to do, for both of them.

_"You are welcome. Now, what do I have to do?"_

_"Look behind you."_

Doing as told, Rinne turned around.

Dread immediately overcame her.

_"...A cage?"_

Before her eyes, a construct of pure gold floated by itself in the barren space. It had the shape of a common cage for birds, and it was the size of an average living room – the gap between its thin bars was enough for hands to slip out, but a person couldn't.

Despite the pristine condition and the polished shine, the golden cage was radiating with an aura of malice, composed of foreign mana – in all honesty, Rinne had to resist the urge to destroy it; the construct definitely didn't belong to this 'sanctuary'.

Inside the cage, Mayuri stood wide awake – her large eyes filled with fondness, her deep crimson irises twinkling with energy, her pupils as white as any other Spirit's, clad in the same black dress as her real body.

 _"Ah,"_ A warm smile graced Mayuri's lips, _"so that's how you look like."_

Earlier, Rinne already had an inkling Mayuri would be more beautiful when awake... but it was startling to see a shade of crimson red very similar to her own.

Rinne shook her head. Now was not the time to think about that. She gestured toward the bar imprisoning the master of this sanctuary.

" _What is this thing?"_

Mayuri bit her lip, and sighed.

_"It's the seal placed upon me. It keeps my mind here, trapped in the Sephira Crystal."_

Trapped... in the Sephira Crystal? But that would mean–

_"Could it be, your body is in coma because your mind is confined here?"_

Her question was answered with a nod. Rinne felt her insides squirm as the realization dawned on her mind, even though this wasn't her real body.

Even if the mind was sealed, the Crystal's presence in the body would keep it alive with mana, and any sensation would be retained despite the unconsciousness... including pain.

Then... the torture Rinne saw from that Marina's past... 4 years of those, Mayuri had experienced them in full? That's... that's not just cruel, that's–

_"Don't look at me like that."_

Rinne's train of thought halted at Mayuri's echoing interjection.

Mayuri's smile from earlier returned. Bright and beautiful, as warm as it was earnest.

_"It's nothing but a bad dream. I have slept for so long, dreamt for so long... but now I am about to wake up."_

Her hand reached out toward the bars, her expression full of hope.

_"After all, I have you. You will free me, at last. All you need to do... is destroy this cage."_

For a moment, Rinne's hands twitched. Instinctively, she knew what her heart wanted – to answer the plea, to reach out for Mayuri in turn.

_"Say no more. Consider it done."_

Destroying this cage would do it? Then Rinne would do just that.

Mana surged through the vast ethereal space, taking the form of fuchsia-colored auroras to signify it didn't belong to this sanctuary.

Instantly, Laharos answered her call; the cold, metallic strings of the Angelic Lyre wrapped themselves around her arms again.

Her Angel twitched, as if agitated – it seemed even they were itching to absolutely demolish the accursed object in front of them.

Rinne glared toward the golden, deceptively beautiful prison.

_"Begone."_

* * *

"..."

Origami couldn't help but frown as she stared.

The superficially unconscious Spirit, the one codenamed Material B, was held in place mid-air by Ruler's Angel, while Ruler herself stood silently in a trance, her eyes closed.

The sight itself wasn't that unusual – Shido had seen Ruler did the same thing on a Marina earlier, and at this moment, that memory might as well be hers.

No, it was the Spirit who called herself [Mayuri] who had bothered Origami the most.

Something about this Spirit invoked a sense of recognition; though it wasn't anywhere near as strong as, or as terrifying, as Ruler.

_"And surely, if I am feeling like this..."_

Then Shido... you must be the same, right?

Deeper into their collective psyche, where Origami's thoughts couldn't breach, where Rio resided, Shido heard the question loud and clear.

He didn't answer, because both of them knew the answer already. It was true.

Familiarity. Nostalgia. Longing. And most of all... loss, and grief.

It was similar to when Shido met Rinne yesterday, yet at the same time, very different.

These feelings were as overpowering as it was abrupt. Shido hadn't the chance to prepare himself when he, through the vision he shared with Origami, lay his eyes on the Spirit.

And that's before the girl revealed her name.

_"Mayuri..."_

Something about that name shook him to his very core.

It was only thanks to Rio and Origami who handled the control of his body that he was even able to calm himself down at all.

Simply gazing at Mayuri's peaceful, sleeping face was... difficult. Painfully so. For a reason Shido couldn't even begin to make sense of, much less explain.

Rinne had done a great job earlier, asking whether they had met before. Shido had wanted to ask that same thing.

_"Papa, are you okay...?"_

Honestly? No, he wasn't. But as always, Rio's sweet voice urged Shido to smile and pat her head. It truly reassured him, as if nothing was wrong with the world.

 _"No, I am fine. It's just..."_ Shido paused. He didn't really need to explain, did he? _"I think you would understand more, Rio. You are in my mind, after all."_

 _"Hummm..."_ Rio hummed, deep in thought. _"Papa feels he recognizes Mayuri just like Mama, and Papa is sad about her too. All these feelings are confusing for Papa."_

...In truth, Shido was uncomfortable with how easily Rio could put all those into words. However, it was all true, he had no reason to deny it.

_"I just don't understand why do I feel like this out of nowhere, Rio."_

_"Papa, you are wrong."_

For a moment, Shido thought he had misheard. But no; Rio had just reprimanded him.

_"Feelings do not come from nowhere, Papa. When Papa feels angry, something had wronged Papa. When Papa feels sad, something had hurt Papa. So when Papa feels nostalgic... that means Papa has discovered something important from the past."_

Rio's tone was gentle – so gentle it contrasted her usual cheerfulness – it was almost scary in how unnerving it was.

_"If Papa cannot recognize her, then Papa has forgotten her. Just like how Papa forgot Mama."_

Those words hit him like physical blows to his head. Though her tone was calm, her words sounded very much like accusation.

Rio... Rio was mad at him, wasn't she...?

_"Rio, I... I am sorry."_

_"Ehhh? Why?"_

There was genuine confusion in Rio's voice. Which in turn confused him.

_"Aren't you mad at me for forgetting them?"_

_"Ehhh!? No, no! Rio isn't mad at Papa!"_ Her voice became panicked. _"Rio doesn't mean it like that! Rio doesn't want Papa feeling confused, so Rio wants Papa to understand."_

Shido almost couldn't believe the relief he felt. The thought of Rio being mad at him nearly gave him a heart attack.

_"You scared me a bit there, Rio."_

_"Rio is sorry..."_

And Rio really was, Shido could sense the apology in his head. There was really nothing to forgive, as it was a misunderstanding, but what she said did pique his curiosity.

_"It's fine, Rio. You said nothing wrong. But, may I ask something?"_

_"Anything for Papa."_

_"Does..."_ Shido couldn't help but hesitate for a moment. _"Does Rio remember how Rinne and I met?"_

Rio made the mental equivalent of shaking her head. _"Rio doesn't remember. Rio actually wanted to ask Mama about that, earlier."_

Earlier?

...Could it be, when Rio had wanted to talk with Rinne back in the Tenguu Square, before Kanzaki came to pick them up? No wonder Rio seemed annoyed, back then.

But, if Rio didn't remember, who else could it be? Shido doubted even Rinne knew the answer. Though a part of him already suspected someone.

If his gut feeling was right, then it might be [Phantom]...

_"Humm?"_

That had Shido's attention. Rio sounded like she had noticed something.

_"Ahhh! Papa, Mama is about to wake Mayuri up!"_

_"What?"_

Shido immediately refocused his mind on his sense of sight. He immediately recognized the aura in the air; he had experienced it too often to mistake it.

Origami's thoughts hadn't done anything else but stare and contemplate at the new Spirit and Ruler since earlier... but now, she too could sense it.

[Astral Dress]. It was different from Kurumi's, Rinne's, or Origami's. If Shido had to compare... it was similar to the ones worn by the Marinas.

Suddenly, Rinne opened her eyes and the Strings of her Angel released their captive – but much to Shido's surprise, Mayuri didn't fall.

In fact, her body remained still in mid-air, levitating in place. Rinne smiled, and took a few steps away from her.

"Good morning," Rinne said.

The dark clothes on her body glowed brightly with blinding golden light as if in response.

"[El Emet]"

Origami and Shido's surprise became one as the telepathic voice from before became very much physical.

After the light died down, their surprise turned into shock.

Mayuri was different – gone were the gothic blouse and skirt from earlier, she was now clad in a dark dress which reminded Shido and Origami of a ballerina's; short and form-fitting, with an equally short puffy skirt.

Her bare legs were now covered with golden greaves which reached her knees, elegant and symmetrical as if created for fashion rather than protection. Her hands and arms were similarly covered by a pair of detached sleeves doubling as black gloves, matching her dress.

A pair of feathery, swan-like wings roughly a meter in length manifested from behind her shoulders, with a much smaller pair attached above Mayuri's ears. Their bodies were curled up, much like a swan who was ready to take flight.

Her blond hair spread behind the wings, ever so slightly shifting in color and glistened – if it was simply blonde earlier, now her hair resembled shining threads made out of gold – bright and reflective. All in all, the Spirit looked like an angel, even more so than Origami.

The only common ground between Mayuri's form from a few moments ago and right now was her peaceful, sleeplike expression, but even that changed once her eyes fluttered open, revealing crimson irises which reminded Shido much of another Spirit's eyes.

Shido felt the Spirit mana deep within him trembled at the sight; not in excitement, not in fear, but – in recognition. He had to thank Rio and Origami for handling his body's control; if not for them, the stirrings would have been unbearable, like the time he went berserk.

Before he or Origami could think of anything else, the newly awakened Spirit opened her mouth.

"Good morning. Thank you for waking me up."

Perhaps it was Shido's own preference, but he preferred Mayuri's actual voice speaking than the telepathic ones from earlier.

Rinne shook her head. "Don't mention it. I am just happy to help."

A chuckle escaped Mayuri's lips. "I had a feeling you would say that."

Mayuri slowly floated down and landed on the floor, her golden greaves clicking with the metallic tiles. The wings on her back and her ears relaxed to a rested state.

The blonde turned her head to face Origami, her crimson eyes trailing up and down, clearly evaluating, but without an iota of judgment in her eyes.

"Now that I am awake..."

The Spirit looked down to her own Astral Dress, as if confirming she was indeed awake, before she looked up to face Origami again, then to Rinne, then to Kurumi.

"Thank you... all of you."

Her crimson red eyes became reflective, and her lips quivered ever so slightly.

Shido wasn't dense enough to not know what he was seeing; Mayuri was on the verge of tears.

Before anyone could say anything however, Mayuri raised a hand to wipe her eyes and spoke again;

"I don't know how could I possibly repay what the three of you have done for me... but allow me to begin by asking a question."

Question?

"Am I your only objective coming here?"

That surprised Shido and Origami. And if those widened eyes were any indication, Rinne as well. Kurumi however, didn't look at all affected.

"Ara, you are sharp. Indeed, you are not the only reason we have come here."

What? Shido was pretty sure Kurumi and Rinne's deal with Kotori was to release the Spirit locked in this island facility and hand her over to the [Ratatoskr], nothing more or less.

As if reading his mind, Rinne glanced at Origami and by extension himself, her eyes apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Tobiichi-san. We didn't inform you earlier, but Kurumi and I also need to retrieve something else from this island."

Origami spoke faster than Shido could command their shared mouth to. "Something?"

"It's a Realizer Unit." Kurumi said offhandedly.

Shido could feel Origami narrowing their shared eyes at the gothic Spirit. "Realizer? What do you need one for?"

"It's a secret, O-ri-ga-mi-san." Kurumi replied with a sing-song tone, and Origami honestly wanted to palm her face for not expecting that kind of answer.

"Whatever. You are truly a pain to deal with, Tokisaki Kurumi."

It was very rude of Origami to say that, but honestly Shido couldn't disagree with it, at least at the moment.

Kurumi only smirked mockingly to Origami's face before she turned to eye Mayuri. "Pardon me for asking, Mayuri-san. How do you know that we are not done here?"

"I can sense emotions, remember?" Mayuri smiled. "I may not be able to read your minds, but I can certainly tell what feelings are swirling in your heads. And what I am sensing from the two of you include determination... along the lines of 'let's get this over with'. Thus, I am assuming you two are not done here."

"Whoa, that's splendid," Rinne spoke with no small amount of awe in her voice, "Your Spirit senses are amazing, Mayuri-san!"

Shido and Origami both had to agree with that. That kind of ability – it was closer to what Ratatoskr's Spirit scanner could pull off, to analyze a Spirit's mental state.

_"Hum. Rio is curious now, does Mayuri sense Papa and Rio here right now?"_

Rio's mental question was a legitimate one. In his current state, whose emotions would register in Mayuri's senses? His own? Rio? Origami? All three? Shido itched to ask her.

Meanwhile, at Rinne's praise, Mayuri waved it off with a smile.

"It's nothing, Rinne-san. More importantly, may I request to help you with your next objective in this place?"

Kurumi moved a finger to her chin, her expression in thought.

"I personally wouldn't mind the extra help. But Mayuri-san, I must ask, are you in any condition to fight?"

Kurumi gestured toward the Marina corpses scattered across this whole chamber.

"The DEM might have been feeding you with magical energy through Realizers, but they have also harvested your flesh for the past 4 years. I have no doubt your mana reserves are now depleted."

Now that Kurumi mentioned it... it was the truth; while Mayuri's mana could still be felt, it was much fainter compared to Origami, Kurumi, and Rinne's.

In fact, it was comparatively so weak, Shido had not noticed through Origami's senses until Kurumi pointed it out. Could Mayuri fight in such a state...?

Rinne seemed to share his worries, as she stepped forward. "You don't have to push yourself, Mayuri-san. We could handle this."

However, Mayuri didn't seem at all concerned. "Thank you for your worries. However, I too have a score to settle with the one who has been taking care of me for the last 4 years."

Mayuri opened her mouth to breathe in, before-

" **[Ariel] (Retribution Wings)** "

Shido immediately recognized the unfamiliar word for what it was; it was a chant to summon an Angel.

Origami's thoughts had expected something large to manifest, but much to her and Shido's surprise both – it was anything but.

What appeared to be numerous clouds of golden dust gently shined into existence around Mayuri's vicinity; glittering much like twinkling stars on a night sky. Floating in the air in defiance of gravity, the particles appeared to move around her like a ring of light.

The sight made Shido recall the image of an asteroid belt in his astronomy lessons; though it was nowhere near as beautiful. Perhaps rather than that, it was closer to an angel's halo from the comics he read, albeit many times bigger.

"It's been a while, old friend..."

Mayuri spoke softly to what could only be her Angel, her hand gently touching the golden particles in front of her.

"O, **[Holy Grail]**. Heed my prayer..."

As if responding to the request, the golden dust coalesced into a shape – a goblet for drinking, gleaming gold just like its constituents.

Shido had only ever heard of the Holy Grail in movies, but at this moment, if anyone had told him that the goblet in Mayuri's hand was the real deal, he would have believed them.

Mayuri raised the grail above her head.

" **Give them back to me**."

For an instant, Shido could feel a wave of mana had washed over the space around him.

"Wh... what did you do?"

Origami's thoughts within Shido couldn't help but ask on his behalf.

Mayuri only smiled.

"Take a look around you."

And take a look, Origami did.

"Eh...?"

All of the Marina corpses had disappeared, and in their place were dark red orbs of light, shining eerily with blood red light. Their auras felt like Spirit mana.

A few seconds later, the blood-colored lights in the whole chamber flung themselves toward Mayuri at high speeds – or more precisely, toward the grail in her hand.

The lights fused together into a single glowing red orb, the intensity of the Spirit mana growing as more orbs assimilated into it, floating just above the grail like a torch's light.

From outside this chamber, even more numerous dark red lights were descending from the huge hole on the ceiling, their numbers far surpassing Shido or Origami's ability to count.

These orbs had the same goal as the earlier ones – the grail. In less than a minute, the countless lights had quickly merged into the orb near Mayuri.

Once all the orbs became one, the remaining one exuded so much pressure from the sheer amount of mana condensed – but slowly, its light began to diminish.

Before long, its light faded completely, leaving only dark red mass in the shape of an orb. The sphere then fell, causing a distinctively liquid sound as it hit the insides of the goblet.

Soon after it was done, Mayuri lowered the grail and brought it before her pink lips.

"Thank you, Ariel."

A whisper, before Mayuri began drinking the contents of her grail with casual grace.

The immense amount of Spirit mana within the grail's content gradually made their way into Mayuri's body, slowly saturating every inch of her form and her Astral Dress.

By the time Mayuri was finished with her drink, the accumulated mana had become one with her completely – fueling her weak aura into that pressure which all Spirits exuded with their mere presence.

The thin curl around Mayuri's lips was too malicious to be a smile, but it was nonetheless a sign of joy.

"Now then... may I help you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... done! What do you think? As always, share your thoughts in the comments!
> 
> By the way, Mayuri also has her own original design as drawn by my brother: https://imgur.com/a/LSB0Gui
> 
> Now with that said... thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!


End file.
